Sunday, July 8, 2012

"We'll see how long that lasts"

I have been married to my husband for almost a month and a half, and life is blissful.  Now, I am fully aware that we are newlyweds and to feel infatuated with one another is natural and healthy... and most, if not all couples feel it for the first year or so of marriage.  I am also aware that the expectation of the first year of marriage is that it's hard- riddled with arguments about the toilet seat or laundry being put in the wrong place.  I have heard women complain about everything from eating habits to the toothpaste being an issue, and quite frankly when I hear someone tell me that the first month of marriage is challenging- I can't help but laugh now.  I know that a month and a half isn't a long time, but I am saying... so far, I don't know why you ladies complain so early!  My husband surely is not the most clean nor organized person in the world, and the fact that he slurps almost 80% of what he eats, no matter what it is, certainly is not pleasant.
Now, the point of this post is not to blather on about how happy I am with being married... but the point is to advise anyone who has said the words in this title about or to a newlywed couple to shut the <beep> up.   Let me explain.  When someone asks me the common question of "how's married life?"-  I am starting to believe they may just want to hear me bitch and moan rather than exclaim with joy.  The reason for this being that when I respond to this inquiry with "Wow- life is awesome, and marriage couldn't be more wonderful for us.  I love cooking every meal for him, and seeing him every single night- we do everything together and I love him more now than the day we got married!"  The response has been on several occasions..."Hm, well we'll see how long that lasts."  This has come from family, friends and Christians, so their negativity absolutely baffles me and leaves me wondering- would you rather I respond with "egh, it sucks and we're so unhappy"?  Do you wish we didn't get married?  Do you hope we don't work out?  That's the only thing I can come away with if you respond in this manner.
Again, let me state- I AM AWARE that the newlywed glow wears off.  However, since I hold myself to my own personal standards of Stepford wife behavior- I will continue to live my daily life in sincere devotion to my husband, and my household.  Marriage is a commitment, and I understand that it does not matter if I don't want to clean the dishes, and it does not matter if I merely don't want to have sex- it is necessary for the good of the relationship to uphold my own personal responsibilities in this marriage.  I will get up with my husband every morning, and make him breakfast.  I will make sure he is provided with food for his day at work, and I tell him every morning before he leaves that I love him and he's the most important thing in my life.  Then I will make dinner for us, every night, and make sure he is relaxed with a drink of choice in hand.  I will make love to my husband as often as possible and always hold close the understanding I have and teach- that a man's sexuality is closely tied to his relationship with his wife and the best way to make a man feel like a man is to physically rock his world.  I certainly do not do these things for any reason except for the health and joy of my marriage.  Therefore, I will continue without fail to live life in this way because it was a vow, and a promise, and it does not matter if I "feel like it".
The newlywed glow will not affect the amount of devotion I show to my husband, so I surely do not understand why these people think it will "wear off"?  With divorce being such an overwhelming inevitability for 50% of marriages today, my advice to anyone who says they believe in a Christian marriage is:  Stop the negativity, have faith in love, and instead of responding with this statement, be prepared to encourage and support, and possibly even learn a few lessons from said couple.
Simply put, if you are not prepared to share in the joy- do us a favor and do not inquire at all.

1 comment:

  1. Ok, so I'm catching up on your blog posts and I very much agree with you. I hate that negativity and attitude when people say "we'll see how long that lasts." Every day we can choose any of the following: to love your spouse, take them for granted, do things to make the person feel special, point out their mistakes, be their greatest cheerleader, cut them down verbally, tell them you believe in them and that your committed to them, threaten to leave them if you don't get your way, and the list goes on. What we choose makes all the difference. So every day I choose to love my spouse and ask God to bless our marriage and help us be madly in love and a good testimony of what GOD has done in our lives. I'll be honest, I'm happier now than I was the day I got married and my marriage has only gotten sweeter, hotter, more exciting, happier, and committed. He's my best friend, my lover, my hero, my man for life. I don't want anyone else because I've asked God to keep my eyes solely focused on the person I vowed the rest of my life to. I'm not a great wife, but every day I choose to recommit to him and to God, and God has blessed us tremendously. Thanks for sharing this!

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