25 Pieces of Wisdom from the Still Happily Married in My Life

“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

1. Laugh and laugh often
2. Don’t grow up
3. Play more than work
4. Explore the world even if from your living room
5. Have adventures in your backyard
6. Pay attention to your partner’s day
7. Experience pain and joy together
8. Hold each other close in the happy moments
9. Kiss and hug in the morning and the evening
10. Practice gratitude
11. Be silly as a rule
12. Converse every day
13. Hold hands
14. Cuddle on the couch
15. Know & prioritize one another’s passions
16. Make dinner for each other
17. Make your friendship the center of your relationship
18. Make each other laugh
19. See the humor in tough situations
20. Listen to each other
21. Do hard things together
22. Share heart aches and heart bursts
23. Make small gestures of love every day
24. Step out of your comfort zone together
25. 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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marnie

Marnie Craycroft has been blogging since 2010. She has a masters degree in business administration and is a Montessori-trained educator. Marnie has written four parenting and early learning eBooks, authors numerous digital learning materials, hosts a parenting podcast, and runs online workshops for parents and teachers. Marnie hails from Maine where she spent summers buried in sand and winters buried in snow. She is the proud daughter of a nearly four-decade veteran of the public school systems. Marnie moved to the west coast in 1999, and currently, lives east of Seattle with her husband and three sons. Besides writing, passions include running (usually after her three children), photography, and the outdoors.

Latest posts by marnie (see all)

• 25 Stellar Ways to Connect with Your Partner During Tougher Moments - May 9, 2017
• How to Not Lose Yourself in Marriage - December 17, 2016
• 25 Pieces of Wisdom from the Still Happily Married in My Life - December 8, 2016