Follow Friday & A Dose of Reality

I came across this article while catching up with one of my favorite blogs and thought it would be a great thing to share for my Follow Friday post. Courtney, over at In(side) the Loop, blogged about an article in The New York Times and it really struck a cord with me. If you are married, in a relationship, or think you might go down that path sometime in the future, read the article. It's refreshing after you get over the initial shock of what the author shares in the first paragraph.

I'm newly wed and my marriage is in it's infant stage. We are still learning what exactly a partnership bound by more than just love involves. We have so much to learn and everyday is something new. I love hearing from people who have been married and through it all have stuck it out, and are willing to share their love story.

Someone who has been married for a long time once told me they renewed their vows not because they wanted another party celebrating their love, but because they did not understand the complexity of marriage when they first took their vows. The words didn't hold the same weight 15 years prior as they did now. I thought about this as we stood on the beach last November in Jamaica saying our vows in front of God, our loved ones, and a minister, and tried to take in the words and their meaning. But without really knowing what lies ahead, it is hard to make that kind of promise. You start out with the best intentions when life as a twosome is new and exciting. You try to hold on to that feeling as you have children, experience loss of loved ones, careers, and health. But you never know what lies ahead. Many of us will not make it to the "til death do us part" of the vows.

Coming from a family of failed marriages, I am not naive about this. I have seen how easy it is to give up and I respect someone who stays in for the good fight. I think what this woman did took more courage than most of us have. I know we will have hard times down the road. It's inevitable. Life would not be life without the ups and downs. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to fight for my happily ever after and try my hardest to hold up to those vows we promised last November. I think I have picked a partner who shares in my views and values and is going to fight right alongside me. This might sound naive but after all, we are only 9 months in. I am supposed to be naive in these uncharted waters.