I met my husband at a tennis club by asking him to play with me when no one else was around that day.
His response was, “With you?”
I was a little taken aback, but said, “Uh, yeah.”
I was a total beginner, and I did not realize he was the top player at the club. Oops.
He reluctantly agreed to hit with me, and after about 15 minutes, he said, “You are not as bad as you look.”
Needless to say, I was a little caught off guard by the backhanded compliment. It was not the most elegant beginning. But there were sparks, and that was 20 years ago, and we were married one year later.
We still laugh about it. We have had our ups and downs over the last two decades, but on the whole, we have built a good life… and we have even won a bunch of tennis trophies together too.
Anyone who has ever been in a long-term relationship knows that EVERY relationship has its challenges. Whether you are married or not.
Living with another person and building a life together takes effort, compromise, and a lot of patience.
I am sure my husband would say he is the one who has made the biggest compromises and has the most patience. (We’ll let him believe that.)
There is no one recipe for a good marriage, but there are a few basic tenants that the experts all agree on:
-Communicating: Being able to talk things out openly and honestly.
-Being each other’s cheerleader: Supporting each other’s interests and efforts.
-Spending quality time together: Consistently.
-Laughing together: Laughter is not only the best medicine, but it bonds people together, particularly if you can laugh at yourselves.
In today’s episode of “The OverThinker’s Guide To Joy” podcast, I interview expert Marriage Coach, Maggie Reyes. Maggie is an incredible coach who has helped hundreds of women rekindle their relationships and find their own empowerment in the process.
I learned so much from our conversation and I know you will too. You can listen here wherever you get your podcasts.
With Love,
Jackie
#lifecoach #lifecoaching #marriage #maritaladvice #relationships #theoverthinkersguidetojoy
