This weekend I flew to Tuscon to attend the wedding of my cousin, Kym, and her man Bobby.  It was fun and I hadn't seen my cousins or their families in about 1.5 years so that was good to see them and get to visit.  My favorite thing about going was getting to see my Grandma.  I usually see her about once or twice a year and so it's always such a joy to spend time with her.  This visit her brother, my Uncle Woody, was also there, so that was nice.  Both Grandma and Uncle Woody have lost their spouses in the past 10 years.  They were both married over 50 years and now they are alone.  If I think about that too much I can get very sad, because the reality is that one day I'll be in their shoes as well.

I asked them both while driving to the wedding what their secret to a long and happy marriage was.  Here was their answers:

Grandma:  Make sure that you just figure out how to get along with each other.

Woody:  Yes, make sure the wife just does whatever the man says and all will be happy.

Grandma:  Well, sometimes it kinda works that way.

They were laughing and joking about it, but my Grandma had a good point about figuring out how to get along with each other.  How truthful is that.  We teach our kids to get along.  We have to get along at work.  But for some of us we have the hardest time getting along with our spouse.

I'm thankful that Aaron and I get along.

If someone asked me what my advice was for a good, healthy marriage, and of course I know because I have 9.5 years under my belt, I would tell them a few things.  #1 Respect each other.  #2 Laugh with each other.  #3 Spend quality time with each other.  Those three things are important to me right now, and maybe they'll change of the years, but it seems like if you can do those three things you can be happy and just learn to get along with each other!

What is the best marriage advice you ever received?  Or what best advice to you give out?