Generational Differences in Marriage Dynamics: Cooking

Due to all of my volunteering, I spend a lot of time each week with people who are more in my parents’ generation than mine. That’s normal enough; once we graduate and enter the work force, our pool of peers naturally expands beyond our age group. I have no problem with this most of the time, but once in a while I feel our generational difference, and that usually relates to our views on marriage. My friends don’t have extremely different views on marriage than me; they’re certainly not the types who think their husbands rule the roost. I don’t … Continue reading

Why Marriage Keeps Your Brain Healthy

The next time your spouse drives you absolutely crazy, keep in mind that he, or she, is probably helping to keep your brain healthy. That is because the challenges that our spouses give us, along with the love and support, may actually be protecting our brains. In fact, according to a recent study, sharing a life with another person means that we are less likely to develop cognitive impairment than single people who are not married. The study took place in Scandinavia and included 1,400 men and women. Married people are simply less likely to develop dementia than single people. … Continue reading

Friendship: the Foundation of Marriage

Last week my husband and I made cookies for breakfast. It is supposed to be healthier to eat a batch of cookies, or really any dessert, early in the morning rather than later at night. This way we have more time to burn off those extra calories. That’s not why we made them, though. We made them because the night before I’d experimented with making Pasta Puttanesca (not bad, though I think in the future I’d just swap the anchovies for tuna), and its smell still hung around the kitchen. I figured the best way to get rid of it … Continue reading

Funny Quotes about Marriage

Marriage is something we should take seriously—we should be serious in our commitment, in our devotion, in our determination to do our best every day to keep our relationship strong. However, this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have a little fun with it from time to time—humor is an essential part of any relationship. Here are some funny marriage quotes I found that will hopefully put a smile on your face and help you keep marriage in a lighthearted perspective. A dress that zips up the back will bring a husband and wife together. — James H. Boren A journey is … Continue reading

How to Save Marriage After an Affair

You’re spouse cheated on you and now he says he wants to repair the damage he’s done to the marriage. This doesn’t make much sense to you but you’re willing to give it a try for the sake of your family. Understanding how to save your marriage after an affair is crucial to your recovery from infidelity. Step #1: Grieve the Loss of Your Old Marriage Your marriage before the affair has died. Just like mourning the death of a loved one, you must grieve the passing of a marriage you once knew and loved. Trying to sweep the affair … Continue reading

Great Breakups of 2011

Another year is almost finished and with it, several celebrity marriages. Some were predicted (Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries), some were unexpected (Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger), and others were just anticipated from the start (Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher). With Kim and Kris, I think many people predicted their marriage would end so we just simply wouldn’t have to see them on television or the cover of magazines anymore. No such luck. I was pretty surprised by the Maria and Arnold breakup. Yes, there had been rumors of him cheating, but the two had been together since 1977 (married … Continue reading

Are You Selfish or Selfless in Your Marriage?

Let’s face it…it’s in our nature to be selfish. And our society sure knows how to fuel that. We expect instant results, instant gratification and instant service. Just about anything we want is at our disposal. So we have to be careful that we don’t take that into our marriages. One important component to a happy, successful marriage is selflessness. But I’m afraid that it’s not something we see demonstrated very often, so we may be unsure what that exactly looks like. To be selfless is to be the opposite of selfish. So it might include giving in on some … Continue reading

Fidelity Ruins Marriages?

I realize that for many, there is much to be celebrated about since New York passed its same-sex marriage bill which will allow for gay marriage to be legal starting on July 24, 2011. But do we really have to start tearing down the traditional marriage? That is exactly what happened in a recent article that appeared in the “New York Times.” It was written by a homosexual sex-advice columnist, Dan Savage. He said that fidelity destroys more marriages than it saves (I would like to see the statistics on that one). Yes, you read that right. It is the … Continue reading

Marriages Need Compromise

I think one of the most difficult things to do in a marriage, or in any relationship, is to compromise. Compromise means you are willing to do your part to make something work. It often requires that you give something up. Last week was one where compromise was greatly tested. My husband took a week of vacation, more or less just to use it up, along with the fact that our kids were on their first week of summer break. However I was not on break, so I still had a full workload. Of course, working from home has a … Continue reading

Do You Know Your Spouse’s Greatest Needs?

I recently got together with a friend who was sharing a secret to her happy marriage. She divulged to me the frequency of her intimate relations with her husband and how in return he met so many of her needs. Those needs weren’t physical, nor were they emotional. They were doing chores around the house. Well I can definitely attest to the fact that I would love to see the dishes emptied, the laundry thrown in or the bathroom cleaned. But does my husband know this? Or do I just assume that he knows? You see, my friend and her … Continue reading