Things My Parents Taught Me

My parent’s were rascals. They got married at 19 years old (CRAZY!), had a baby at 20, pushes at the cutest baby ever (me) at 21 and then at 23 out came a baby with orange hair. In July my parents will celebrate their 26 year anniversary. Jared and I will celebrate a solid 3 years in August and the longer I’m married the more I appreciate their marriage.
1. Make out as often as possible. It was non uncommon for me to come home with a bunch of friends and open the front door to a scene out of “The Notebook”. I never saw kissing as gross or thought PDA was nasty, I have always seen it as marriage security.
2. Do things together and apart. When my parents go on vacations, neither of my parents get the short end of the stick. My dad can go deep sea fishing, while my mom spends a day at the beach, of course, they have plenty of activities for the two of them, they just also allow individual activities to be built in as well.

3. It’s okay to argue. I didn’t live in a quite household, where no one spoke about their feelings. My parents disagreed. They’d argue and talk it out. In the end, they each were able to voice their opinion and usually come to a compromise ;)
4. Plan projects that make you feel happy and productive. My mom and dad love to work in their yard. During the spring and summer, you’ll always find them in the yard. The keyword here is “project” it’s something they do together to better their yard. It makes them happy to see a project they completed together.
5. Have friends, my mom and dad love to host parties. My parents always had friends over for dinner, games, firework or any occasion. Having friends keeps you happy. Don’t become an isolated couple.
6. Support each other no matter what. My mom and dad have been through a lot in their 26 years including unemployment, school, kids, career changes, moves and through everything they have each others back. If money was tight, my mom would take a side job to help my dad. If my mom was sick, my dad was there to take us to school and clean the house.
7. Don’t stop doing date night. No matter if you’ve been married for 1 year or 26 years, date night is essential. Go out to movies, get fancy for dinner, mostly take time for the 2 of you to enjoy just each other’s company.

8. Choose your battles. When you’re upset, take a deep breath and think how much this battle really matters.
9. Don’t give up. Marriage can be hard, but it’s worth it. Ask for help, take a deep breath and learn to work through things.

What would you add to this list?