Staying Together for 10 Years and Beyond

People and relationships vary from age group to age group and locality to locality and it is important to understand what it is that your spouse wants from the relationship and from life in order for your relationship or marriage to last. Younger people tend not to think about the distant future and forget that they will not always be young and healthy forever. Older people tend to forget the fun little exciting things that make life memorable and happy. The key to love is finding a compromise between these two age groups. Learning from the past and anticipating the future is the key.

Any successful partnership, including marriage and friendship, begins with communication and should continue good communication skills throughout the relationship. Communication is the best thing two people can do to make their relationship work. Share things with one another but do not become too overbearing. Listen but also share your opinion or experience, do not only listen. Have deep in depth conversations with one another to get closer and understand each other.

Everyone feels a little sad sometimes or overwhelmed by the world and our place in it. Praising your partner often can help alleviate some of the stress this causes. Stress in any form can cause a rift in even the strongest relationships. Small words of praise can eliminate stress. Admire your partner's work ethic, physical shape, mental capacity, and simply admire that they chose you. Let them know they are special to you and brighten their day or week.

Let your opinion be known but also keep in mind your partner's opinion. You will not always agree on everything all the time. You will argue and that is okay because you are communicating. Hold your ground for what you believe in but give some ground to your partner too. If he or she likes comical movies and you like drama or historic movies, compromise and choose your partner's movie one night and yours the next. Take turns when it comes to things that you cannot compromise on. If you cannot visit both of your parents on Christmas Day then be fair and spend Christmas or Thanksgiving with their family and spend the next holiday with yours. You do not own your spouse. They chose to stay with you and spend time with you but they have their own thoughts and feelings too. Listen to them and learn to give a little time or respect to get a little in return.

People say kids complicate marriage and relationships but the truth is that people let kids complicate marriage and relationships. Kids can fit into any relationship. When you become a parent you discover the word "I" no longer exists. It has permanently been replaced by the word "We." As a family, the term "We" is in everything and, when you have kids, this is the way it should be; but between the "we as a family" phrase, find some time to make it just "we, you and I." Kids take a lot of time and energy but you have to get through that together and still be able to spend time with one another at the end of the day, the beginning of the day, lunch time, or dinner time. Kids are important but your marriage or relationship is not less important. When you lose sight of each other in the day to day dance of running the kids around it could be detrimental to your relationship. Always remember to step back and take a break from parenting with one another. Reserve a date night or vacation time for just you two. In the long run, taking time away from kids will help them too because you will have less stress. At the same time, do not leave the kids behind too often. In a family, everyone is just as important as everyone else.

At the end of the day be generous with kisses and hugs and always keep a line open for communication. Do not let things like work and friends interfere with the time you spend together and how you feel about your spouse. Some thing as small as a Facebook notification on your cellphone can ruin a perfect moment and it is these moments that truly matter. Moments that last a life time, like kissing on top of the Eiffel Tower, hugging Mickey at Disney World, kissing when the countdown ends in Times Square every year, watching the sunset in Hawaii, and many more happy, memorable times that you will spend together can be lost when you let work get the better of you. Take a break from work to live and you will find that your relationship with your partner will improve.