# 16 years and going strong intro



## xena74

I everyone. I have been lurking around the boards for many months and decided last night with my husband to join and share with all of you. Hoping to enrich my marriage and anyone elses that could benefit from our years of marriage.

I am a 38 yrs old and DH is 42, we have had 16 wonderful years together. With 14 being married. I would call our marriage a success not only because of the length of time but the leval of happiness we have with each other and the love that is still present each day.

While we have had the "normal" arguments over the years that every couple has been through. We have also faced great struggles with addiction to drugs as well. This put a huge strain on our marriage for many years. But even through that, we remained devoted to each other. I was patient and understanding "most  days" with his recovery process. In the end addiction is a lifetime struggle that you can never let your gaurd down about, but we have came out the "sober" end with renewed love from it.

My Dh has been patient with me as well when it comes to our sex life. While he has always had a high drive, I have been some what low the whole marriage. As the years have passed on we have discovered that having no secrets, and telling your partner all your desires is the key to having great sex for this long. While he still gets frustrated when we go more than a week without sex, we just discuss the matter openly with each other and try to make a effort to put the spark back if it starts to fade.

We have instituted "date night" again, and even when we don't have a baby sitter we still have our date. We just keep our son occupied in his room, and tell him mommy and daddy need alone time. We sit and talk, eat dinner and spend romantic time together. 

I think the key to our marriage is open communication, great sex with no inhibitions and the strength that God is always in our relationship.

Thanks for letting me tell my story!


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## livelaughlovenow

It is wonderful to read a good story!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## DanF

Good for you and keep it up. You can get a lot of tips and ideas from the people here. TAM has definitely helped me spice things up.


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## jane_ro

I'm 37. Been married for 15 years now to a husband 2 years my junior. We got married young and now have 4 kids. We do have struggles: financial, emotional--even dealt with infidelity at one point. Most of all, we are still together, arguments and all. Our secret? None. We are just 2 committed people who value the love we have for the family we built.


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## manvsmonster

Nice to hear success stories. We too have been married 16 years and going strong. We have three girls....one that is in a wheelchair from a childhood illness that struck her at 3 (cancer). That was our toughest time together as we were apart for a long time (100 miles) and he had to pick up the loose ends at home with two other children; one a baby and one a toddler AND keep business going. 

We also are self employed and we work together. We discipline our kids together, love our kids together, and remain a team in practically every situation life hands us. He makes me laugh everyday and I feel very fortunate to have truly found my "best friend." :smthumbup:


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## MrVanilla

Congratulations xena74! 

My wife and I have been together 16 years as well, although we've know each other for 18. We're still devoted and have a pretty good life together, love each other, and have great kids. Our sex life is a disaster, but that's definitely because I'm a stubborn old coot unwilling to try new things and perhaps because she's nearing menopause... but we'll get through it. We've made it through everything else. So, good for you! Glad to see someone else going strong for 16 years! =)


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## Cee Paul

All I can say is that I'm jealous and envious of these stories, and my wife and I have been married for 7 years but the past two have been verrrrrry rocky and a lot of insulting terrible things have been said back & forth. And unfortuneatly we have discussed the possibility of divorce if we don't get some serious help. *sigh*


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## gayleross

I am also about to enter my 16th year of marriage and while there are ups and downs - I believe its worth it. So I encourage everyone here to hang in there and work hard on your marriage. It should not be taken for granted.


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