Long Term Success in MarriageIf you've been married 10+ years and consider your marriage a success, post your success story here. Help others by talking about what works for you.
The key is if you are both content & satisfied with both areas. I would take consistent affection & romance over sex any day. Avoiding fights is always a good thing.
Married 21 years. I say you both need to want it to last the rest of your lives. That ensures that you're both willing to work on problems as they arise.
Humour.
Have fun and laugh, even at the most serious things.
If both of you could find each other's jokes funny and laugh at the same things, a special bond , like a deep a understanding is formed.
Don't take each other neither yourself too seriously.
Don't cheat on each other either emotionally or sexually.
Have an independent sense of self worth; don't look for your spouse to make you whole or fill a void in yourself.
Be able to laugh easily, don't take everything seriously. Having a good sense of humor will take you far in life.
Pick your battles; not every disagreement is worth getting mad about. You don't always have to be right or have the last word.
Don't let small issues grow into big problems. Nip problems in the bud before the issue gets bigger than both of you. If you're having problems talking about certain issues, don't avoid them. Over time those issues will become huge issues. Conflict avoidance is not a good strategy for marriage.
Learn to fight right without sarcasm, mockery, insults. Easier said than done, but a good skill to master.
You're a team. There's no "I" in team.
Be a good listener. Try to understand things from your spouse's point of view.
Be a good communicator. Don't assume your spouse knows what you want or can read your mind. Explain things clearly and with examples especially if you're talking to your husband. Remember that nonverbal communication speaks louder than verbal communication so stop the eyeball rolling and other rude gestures.
Have a solid friendship with each other underlying your marriage.
Make room for fun each week. Married life isn't all about the bills, the kids, the housekeeping, your work obligations. Forget to have fun with each other and you'll soon find that your spouse has found someone else willing to have fun with him/her.
Make sure you both agree on money matters and your sex life which are two things that often drive a couple to divorce.
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The marriage bed must be a place of mutuality—the husband seeking to satisfy his wife, the wife seeking to satisfy her husband. Marriage is not a place to "stand up for your rights." Marriage is a decision to serve the other, whether in bed or out. 1 Corinthians 7:2 (The Message)
Coffee Amore's post was great! Those are all great things to do and most I try to live by. The only thing I would add is to develop good boundaries with your spouse that you both agree with. Don't wait until a problem happens.
CM is right. It's all about the fun. Just last weekend while the kids were gone we built a fort in the family room in front of the fireplace and spent the night in it. We're not afraid to act like kids...
I will say however money can be source of real problems in a marriage when it should not be. For years I was the keeper of the accounts and that simply should not be. I have basically communicated to my wife she needs to be aware of the finances right along with me. It not only keeps me accountable it also means if something happens to me she can step right in and do the bills etc.
Raising kids can also create rifts and it too should not. It becomes even more complicated when you have a child of special needs and you have two parents who have differing philosophies on what is best. Being on the same page or at least making compromises on child rearing can go a long way in saving a marriage.
__________________ I ka 'olelo no ke ola, i ka 'olelo no ka make.
Loosely translated: The saying tells the Hawaiians that words can either be a source for healing or destroying and so we need to be careful with our words
My marriage is failing. But it wouldn't have if we communicated better, were more intimate, and more mature. I think maturity, intimacy, communication, and effort.
When I married my husband, I was head over heels in love with him....Still am...Not 30 minutes ago we finished watching "Bridge of Mad**on County" (don't know why this was blipped) and we are still the way Francesca and Robert were...Why?...Probably because I never let this special part of us go away...And may I add he is a very willing partner....For us sex was and always has been big....Still is...He just plain makes me feel so young and I do the same with him....
Unlike so many women nowadays, I married for love and not good stock or the thought of a good provider...He had nothing....But, God how I loved him...He has now given me the world...We want for nothing...I believe all this is because of the love we have between us...
Couples fight...We had some differences and I am sure along the line that the word Divorce was mentioned...Maybe because of the kids or maybe two immature people (with me the biggest culprit) letting off steam that said something yet meant nothing...Unfortunately, it was always ME who said this word...This happening now makes me cringe as I wonder who in the name of God did I think I was to dare say this to this man....All I can say is he must have loved me a lot to allow me to grow up and be to him what I had to learn to be....
To me one of the most important things is to marry someone like you are...I adored him from the start and he I...Then add to this that we are alike...Both love sports and both kind of wise a**es and having fun all the time.....Someone once asked didn't you miss the kids after they left....Here we would both say No, this was when we really started to find each other again and the whole house to ourselves...We just plain have a ball....
He worked rotating hours so this part of marriage we were able to work around...When love is strong, you work things out....I can recall a baby's Baptism where my husband was called in to work, but this again is all part of marriage...
These are pretty much the things that made us...We constantly talk....Love to watch movies and I share his love of sports....Add to this that the word "I love you" is not a stranger to our vocabulary....A day does not go by when this is not spoken in fun or whatever game of life we are playing....
I recently did a post on expectations in marriage...The only promise that I made from the start was, if and when we had babies that he would always think that he is my favorite...I would love them to death, but he was the shinning star who made me who I was.....and may I add, I still feel the same...
Don't cheat on each other either emotionally or sexually.
Have an independent sense of self worth; don't look for your spouse to make you whole or fill a void in yourself.
Be able to laugh easily, don't take everything seriously. Having a good sense of humor will take you far in life.
Pick your battles; not every disagreement is worth getting mad about. You don't always have to be right or have the last word.
Don't let small issues grow into big problems. Nip problems in the bud before the issue gets bigger than both of you. If you're having problems talking about certain issues, don't avoid them. Over time those issues will become huge issues. Conflict avoidance is not a good strategy for marriage.
Learn to fight right without sarcasm, mockery, insults. Easier said than done, but a good skill to master.
You're a team. There's no "I" in team.
Be a good listener. Try to understand things from your spouse's point of view.
Be a good communicator. Don't assume your spouse knows what you want or can read your mind. Explain things clearly and with examples especially if you're talking to your husband. Remember that nonverbal communication speaks louder than verbal communication so stop the eyeball rolling and other rude gestures.
Have a solid friendship with each other underlying your marriage.
Make room for fun each week. Married life isn't all about the bills, the kids, the housekeeping, your work obligations. Forget to have fun with each other and you'll soon find that your spouse has found someone else willing to have fun with him/her.
Make sure you both agree on money matters and your sex life which are two things that often drive a couple to divorce.
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What's the formula? 
