Beginning in 1986 Terri Orbuch, an author and psychologist commenced a study in which she followed the lives of 373 married couples for over 20 years. Nearly half of these couples had divorced over the decades (pretty typical numbers), and they shared with the researcher lessons that they had learned as a result of their…
DetailsBack during the Christmas holidays, I had the most unbelievable experience. My wife and I were out of town and had the opportunity to spend an afternoon and evening with a couple of my cousins and their spouses. We went to one of their homes, visited in the afternoon, went out to dinner, then came…
DetailsI love hearing stories about how people are filled; what things lead to feeling valued and cherished – how they get their “crank turned.” My wife is a public school administrator. Occasionally, she will get a note from a past student or perhaps a card from a staff member, letting her know what an impact…
DetailsTouch is an amazing communication tool that is frequently overlooked in marriage. Now that may seem a strange comment. I mean, we think of marriage and we think of hand-holding, kissing, and sexual intimacy – we think of touch. But touch is not just limited to romantic touch. I recently had lunch with a pastor…
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You and your spouse are working on a project, putting a table together. It is going pretty well. You ask an innocent question as to where a part goes, and without warning, he or she responds with an impatient snarky comment. Does that ruin the afternoon? Do things go sour? Oftentimes it is not even…
DetailsI remember growing up watching a TV show called the “Honeymooners”. In that show, Jackie Gleason’s character would get mad at his wife and say, “To the Moon Alice.” Well, now there is a nonprofit project called “Inspiration Mars” that plans to send a couple into space in 2018 to slingshot around the red planet…
DetailsFor those of you who are married or who aren’t interested in online dating – don’t tune out just yet. There might be something in here for you or a friend. Twenty years ago, no one had heard of online dating. We were all still meeting people the old fashioned way – face to face. …
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Life can be very full and very busy. We can be occupied with going to the gym, raising kids, working in our kid’s classroom, cleaning the house, working a full-time job, and the list goes on and on. It is easy to be so focused on all of the demands of the day and striving…
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Have you ever been looking forward to a romantic evening with your spouse, when one of you inadvertently makes a comment that turns the rest of the night on its head? While you didn’t intend for things to devolve into a fight – they did anyway. We have probably all experienced this unraveling of an…
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Sometimes it may seem that other couples are happier than you. They laugh more and they just seem to enjoy each other more than you and your spouse. Are they just better matched or are they doing something differently? While I can’t speak to how naturally compatible they may be, I do find that most…
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