I’m a Member of the “Happy Wives Club”

This post is part of the Happy Wives Club Blog Tour, which I am delighted to be a part of along with hundreds of inspiring bloggers. To learn more, CLICK HERE! 

I don’t tend to talk too much about my personal life on this site, but Valentine’s Day is the next big holiday around the corner and I’m sentimental.

Fawn of Happy Wives Club just released her book called, well, Happy Wives Club. They created a “blog tour” between now and January 31 to help promote marriage and the book. (Frankly, I’m very impressed by their bloggers page: http://happywivesclubbook.com/forbloggers  I mean, everything you need is laid out right there. This should be a template for all to follow.)

But to get to the meat of my post – they want me to talk about love and marriage – from a first-person experience.

Hmm…the last time I wrote about being a member of the “Happy Wives Club” was when a post about the stupid “affair” site made news as my city was in the TOP RUNNING for hits on that site in the metro area. (I will not link to said site b/c its stupid and you shouldn’t know it exists anyway.) The point I wanted to get across is that, “hey, not all women in this town are unhappy in their marriage, people!”

Not sure the point was made.

So I have another opportunity.

I have a happy marriage.

Now what? You want to know the secret, right? Or the “why” I am happy after 19 years together and 10 years of marriage?

That is harder to describe. I often think about this when I look across at the man I fell in love with at 18-years-old and see marriages around me crumble. Why do we work and they didn’t?

• We come from the same background: farm families, same religious upbringings, experience much of the same hardships as a youngun’ even though I was in South Dakota and he was in Wisconsin. What this means – our lives are really running parallel paths and I believe that’s due to our similar childhoods. And that leads to less to argue over – like the religion topic – that’s a rub for many couples. We just “get” each other.
• Instead of bringing out the worst in each other, I think we bring out the best. For example, he didn’t apply himself in high school, but then he joins me at the same college and boom, he’s getting straight A’s practically. In the end, he graduated with a higher GPA than me. And for me? He “grounds” me. He’s my yin to my yang and most importantly, he allows me to be me. What this means – if someone is tearing you down instead of bringing you up, you should re-evaluate the relationship.
• He’s an introvert with extrovert tendencies, I’m an extrovert with introvert tendencies. You know those personality tests? Yeah, we are opposite.  What this means – you know those sayings you’ve heard over and over again about relationships? Like “don’t go to bed angry.” They are true.
• We are heading in the same direction: For example, we want to retire early and tend to hold the same values for money and spending, like socking away the max amount to your 401(k) account. (Although he’s a bit better at this than me and yes, its a subject that gets discussed quite a bit.) What this means – do you share your dreams and passions with one another? Are you helping one another get there?

I’m not sure if I’m helping anyone out here that perhaps came to this post because they were seeking answers for their own marriage. You know who can really help you with your marriage? Besides YOU? God. He helps.

Fawn Weaver, the founder of the Happy Wives Club wrote a book about the best marriage secrets the world has to offer. They say the book is like “Eat, Pray, Love meets The 5 Love Languages.” I say the book is inspiring. You can grab a copy HERE.