TMEW had such a wide, brimming smile on her face yesterday – so wide, her eyes smiled! I had given her a laser sight for her Walther P22 for Christmas and yesterday we took it over to the range where Bob (the owner) was really nice and zeroed it in for us. The next clip she shot at 15 yards yielded 6 out of 9 bulls eyes – she was ecstatic! Of course, solving your number one problem always gives you another number one problem to take its place – in this case, better trigger control.
Which brings me to my actual point. Marriage, too, is always a series of Number One problems (with me certainly being the Number One Problem at times). No, shooting with TMEW is not our recipe for success as this is a fairly new hobby for us. However, doing an activity together that we enjoy IS part of having a successful marriage – along with a whole host of other factors. Certainly, having our philosophies in and of life being sympatico is also a major part of that success – we’ve been through a lot of heartaches with illnesses with her and the Eldest & Youngest over the last decade or so. But we’re still here – we’re working on anniversary #29 this year – we must be doing something right! And then this caught my eye: The Secrets to Staying Married:
Who better to give relationship advice than people who have been married for decades? Check out common sense relationship tips from real couples.
“You have to respect each other and demonstrate it. Find something you love to do together. A few years ago we started kayaking, and we just bought bikes. It doesn’t have to be expensive, but you need to stay connected. Most of all, treasure each other.” Paul Babcock, who has been married to his wife, Marina, for 32 years
“There are no books to prepare you for what comes at you. Contrary to what people think, it is not a 50/50 relationship, it is 100/100 or it will never work. I still can’t believe we made it this far. Seems like almost yesterday.” Arline Wertheim, who has been married to her husband, Seymour, for 49 years
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“God is behind it all—and we overlook each other’s faults.” Jimmie and Gordon Alford, who have been married for 69 years
"Before marrying Jan, I wrote a letter to her mother, asking for her blessings. In the letter, I stated that I felt that our marriage would be based on love, trust and mutual respect. I neglected to mention humor, humor and humor." Nick Jones, who has been married to his wife, Jan, for 38 years
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“You have to have the same basic principles and belief system. We differ on a lot of things, but it’s important to stay on the same track in terms of ethics and morals. We have entirely different interests, but there are also things we like to do together. We have fun together, but we also go our separate ways. He’s politically inclined, I’m not. I love the arts, he doesn’t. We have similar friends. I have my girlfriends and he has his golf buddies. I’ve always enjoyed his company. He’s fun. He has a much better sense of humor than I do, but I don’t hear terribly well and that works to our advantage too!” Gail Burgess, who has been married to her husband, Don, for 49 years
There’s a couple more – click on over.
(H/T: Instapundit)