How To Stay Married Forever




HOW TO STAY MARRIED FOREVER

You have stood up and sworn to love each other,
you have married for better and for worse,
but if you want to stay married for life
pay heed to the following verse:

Remember always that your mate comes first,
before work, friends, children, or career.
Behave as if your mate is the best thing in your life,
and the truth of that sentiment will become clear.

You are a team, so keep no hidden secrets.
Pool your money and share life’s issues.
Allow nothing and nobody to come between you,
and save your crying for a fresh box of tissues.

When you fight, as you must, always play fair,
be careful not to say things you might regret.
Hurtful words might perhaps be forgiven
but they are extremely hard to forget.

Remember to flirt, to wink across a crowded room,
try to fall in love anew each and every day.
Remind each other of the reasons you are together,
remember when you wanted it to be this way.

Treat each birthday, each anniversary or occasion
as a chance to create memories for when you are old.
The moment you cherish may not seem like much now,
but in the future they will be worth more than gold.

Never buy each other gifts for their practical sake,
don’t give presents that sit forever on some shelf.
If she really wanted a new vacuum cleaner
she would have no trouble picking it out herself.

Pay your bills on time, and prepare a living will,
get life insurance, hire an attorney and heed them.
They are not sexy or glamorous, or even inexpensive,
but one day you will wake up and you will need them.

Love your mate’s parents as if they were your own,
never criticize your father-in-law, or his wife.
When your mate’s mother has a birthday, send a nice card,
thanking her for giving birth to the love of your life.

Always listen to the pattern of your partner’s heart,
never take the opportunity to criticize.
If you are right, keep quiet, the truth will prevail,
if you are wrong, be grown up and apologize.

When you tie the marriage knot, do not do it halfway,
plan on staying married until the end of your days.
Life has a habit of surprising one and all,
so do not lose sight of each other through the haze.

Do not go to bed mad – stay up and fight!
Come to the finish and you will both be glad.
Either argue until you have thrashed it all out,
or you have both forgotten why it was that you were mad.

Laugh together every day, as much as you can,
laugh through tears, terror, worry, and doubt.
If you can manage to laugh at yourselves with ease,
you will always have plenty to laugh about.

If you find yourself in a critical mood
step back and take a momentary breather.
Never criticize your spouse in public,
and try not to do it in private, either.

Remember that in our darkest moments,
when we feel spurned by the powers up above –
when your spouse is at their least lovable,
that’s when they are most in need of your love.

Do not fall for the glib lie of perfectionism,
such a thing does not truly exist in life.
If you can be content with what you already have
you will save yourself a world of strife.

Whisper when you argue, keep the volume low,
never raise your voice unless you are on fire.
Let your lover long to hear your tender voice,
and let your sound always be one of desire.

Examine your relationship on a regular basis,
like changing your oil when the pressure gets low.
And like your car, your marriage is always moving forward,
so steer it where you would like it to go.

Finally, be an interesting person, lead your own life,
bring home cool stories at the end of the day.
For if your lover never knows what will happen next,
that is simply one more reason to want to stay.

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Shared with DVerse Poets for Open Link Night!

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©2014 Christopher Reilley
 
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Comments

  1. What excellent advice, and a worthy topic.

    I love this:
    "And like your car, your marriage is always moving forward,
    so steer it where you would like it to go."

    (Shawna)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh my heart.... this is soo beautiful!! ❤️❤️❤️

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lillian here....host for dVerse OLN LIVE. Thank you for this posting....I'm reminded of just a few more things, having been married to the love of my life for 53 years. 1. Never engage in an "everything but the kitchen sink" fight. In other words, stay on the one topic you are unhappy about. Far too often people start on one thing they're unhappy about and then they add another and another and end up "throwing in everything but the kitchen sink", just piling it on.
    2. Marry your best friend. This to me is key. On average, you'll have a few years as newlyweds, so so in love with the passion that accompanies those early years. Then, for many, children follow. And now you have responsibilities as parents: diapers to change, toddlers to play with, elementary school kids to enjoy, teenagers to somehow guide, and then they're out of the house and you are two again. Now you may still have your careers, so you are together only that part of the day you are not at "work" and possibly on weekends...but it is just you two. And then when you retire, there you are...the two of you 24/7, getting older together. So so much better at every step of the way if you're best friends through it all! :)
    Thanks for posting!

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  4. All very good advice, Christopher. These lines made me smile:
    ‘Never buy each other gifts for their practical sake,
    don’t give presents that sit forever on some shelf.
    If she really wanted a new vacuum cleaner
    she would have no trouble picking it out herself.’

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  5. This is a perfect set of advices... staying married for ever will take a lot of work, but in the end it is always worth it if both put in the effort.

    ReplyDelete

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