Eddie: Since marrying my wife Mary, I have learned the full meaning of being in love simply by being with her. A marriage is a common search for the good and the beautiful. It means having the capacity to forgive and forget, giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow. To be loved is to know happiness and contentment. To give love is to know the joy of sharing oneself.
Jen and Kevin, Married 20 years
Jen: Try to develop a lifestyle that works for you. Kevin is better at some things and I am better at others. I am pitiful at sewing and Kevin is better. Release preconceived ideas about gender roles or who's job it is to do this or that. No marriage looks exactly like another so make your relationship unique to you.
Kevin:Marriage is not a business. There is not a "Marriage Protocol" to ensure that happiness stays between the lines. Similar to what Jen stated, it is necessary that you are open to keep intact what works for you, once you do tie the knot. Most of what will work for you as a couple flies in the face of tradition. Oh well. I had absolutely no model of successful marriage to lean on growing up, so we modeled our marriage after what made us happy, and what worked for us at that moment. Theres no trick to it: The moment changes, and we make adjustments, so that our happiness stays intact. I can go on and on about this, because after 20 years together, I cant tell you haw many changes we've made to preserve the positive core and energy of our relationship. You cannot let tradition, or any person, influence that.