I was reading one of my fav blogs…..Prairie Princess. http://deeretomyheart.blogspot.com

This girl cracks me up and I love her post. She is a down home country girl. She speaks from the heart and it must be a big one. She had posted this a few blogs back, (her list was longer, I condensed for my view point) but I found it very interesting and felt I needed to share it. They ring so true. I have been married to Wheatie for 38+ years. Some of the roads have not been easy. Some have been a piece of cake. Tears have been shed……some on a positive note, some not so much. Some, I wish I had never traveled. I love him and he loves me. We work hard at what we have. We are blessed to have two wonderful sons, two beautiful daughter  in laws and if you didn’t know my now…..four GRAND angels.

If you are now married, getting married, thinking about getting married…take it serious. It’s not to be taken lightly. It’s not a fairy tale, you are not a princess and he is not a prince (although I would hope you treat one another that way.) Go forth and remember a few of these..

1. Be their cheerleader. You are the one person that is supposed to support them in everything they do. If you disagree with something they would like to do, GENTLY bring up your concerns.

2. Be honest with them. Dishonesty gets you nowhere, and can hurt worse down the road.

3. Get off the couch and greet the other spouse when they get home from work or somewhere else. 

4. Tell them that you appreciate them, a lot. 

5. Make the time to go on dates with each other, no matter how busy you are.

6. Never talk down to them...especially in public or around their family. 

7. Simple: treat them as you would want to be treated.

8. Watch your tone, as well as the words you choose when arguing. 

9. Know that you both are a family unit now. Don't let each other's families decide what you should do, where you should go, or any other major decision in your lives. You two decide what's best for YOU.

10. You always love the other person. Even if sometimes you don't like them very much, you ALWAYS love them and need to let them know that.

11. Don't EVER let the "D" word be thrown around casually, or when you're arguing. NEVER.

12. The grass is never greener on the other side....it's greener where you water it. 

I put #9 in red - because I think this is very important. One of the best things Wheatie and I ever did was to move AWAY from family in the first year of marriage. We moved to attend college. We had no family, no friends, NOBODY AND NOTHING. Everything we did was without influence from our parents, friends, family. We made our own decisions. We made mistakes and we made lots of memories. If you are parent, let your kids go....cut the apron strings. If you teach your children to be independent, responsible, caring and loving, then let them do it on their own. If they fall down, let them get back up by themselves. When they marry, they will be better partners and parents.