“Today I am celebrating the love of my love. He was 58 years old.”
I gasped. I re-read the words. I read the words again. Then again.
“What? Was he sick? How did I not know?” I whispered frantically under my breath.
You see, my friend, she lost her husband, as it turns out quite unexpectedly, and she let the world know a few days later. A motorcycle accident. She didn’t fault him. His daredevil personality and his love of sports is one reason she fell so deeply in love with him, her companion for life, 40 years ago at the age of 18.
I felt the sting of tears release under my eyelids.
They were the perfect couple. Wait, she would correct me: They are the perfect couple. She will see him again.
“You come to love not by finding the right person, but by seeing an imperfect person perfectly.” — Sam Keen
Raw honesty and openness often greet us in times of despair, especially in times of grief. So, I paid close attention to the words friends and family shared about the passing of my friend’s husband of 40 years, her teenage sweetie. They were the couple on my pedestal.
So, I have to ask: what are the secrets to maintaining the teenage love status? how do you remain close? how do you hold him tightly by your side as if you were still 18?
Give me the wisdom because I don’t want to wake up one day with regret that I did not make the most of the love of my life. I don’t want to lose him and forget the touch of his hand on my arm, the sound of his voice calling me his “sweetheart”, the smell of his freshly showered hair, or the gut dropping butterfly feeling of when we first met.
What are the secrets to “still happily married”? How do you keep those feelings close? How do you live and embrace the “happily ever after”? Here are a few magical gems.
25 Pieces of Wisdom I Gathered from the “Still Happily Married” in My Life
- Laugh and laugh often
- Don’t grow up
- Play more than work
- Explore the world even if from your living room
- Have adventures in your backyard
- Pay attention to your partner’s day
- Experience pain and joy together
- Hold each other close in the happy moments
- Kiss and hug in the morning and the evening
- Practice gratitude
- Be silly as a rule
- Converse every day
- Hold hands
- Cuddle on the couch
- Know & prioritize one another’s passions
- Make dinner for each other
- Make your friendship the center of your relationship
- Make each other laugh
- See the humor in tough situations
- Listen to each other
- Do hard things together
- Share heart aches and heart bursts
- Make small gestures of love every day
- Step out of your comfort zone together
- Don’t take life too seriously
Ps- do you want to join our FREE marriage course & get this printable below? click here.
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