I’ve been married a long time….. a really long time. People always ask me how do you stay together for soo long?  Honestly, I’m still trying to figure it out. I think it’s about obviously loving your partner: all the good, the bad and the ugly parts – yet life has a way of constantly testing the bonds.   Periodically, I will write about some things that have saved my marriage.  I’m not going to list all the stuff that the magazines write about like being a good listener ..blah, blah, blah!  So here’s my first two pieces of practical advice:

Learn to manage your partner to get what you want.  Best relationship advice I ever heard was from the movie  MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING:  “He may think he’s the head of the house, but I’m the neck that turns the head any way it wants!!”  When you partner makes a decision about something that you don’t agree with (and hopefully he/she is not always making a unilateral decision) and you want to alter the outcome without fighting, try gently planting the seeds of what you want and make him/her think it was their idea. It may take time to learn how to finesse this craft……. but it usually works like magic!

I think separate closets are soo important for a happy marriage. Firstly, for the obvious reason of personal space, but also there is sometimes one partner that does not keep their stuff as organized as the other.  Yes, I confess – I am definitely not the neatest one in our marriage, but I embrace my messiness and with my own closet I can just shut the door!!

Feel free to send in your strategies…