Marriage is being in for the long haul, and that being said - you learn a lot from it.

1. Forgiveness

It isn’t always easy but it is always necessary. None of us are perfect and because of that, we are all bound to make a few mistakes. Knowing how and when to forgive someone is a key to any relationship, but especially a lifelong commitment. The love you have in your heart for the person lying next to you should leave no room for grudges. The future is never a sure thing. There may not be an opportunity tomorrow to forgive today’s mistakes.

2. Laughter really is the best medicine

My husband bought me a card one time that said I was the “best cousin he ever had!”. I literally cried from laughing so hard. It’s small things like that, that become inside jokes or just funny memories that make life so much more fun. Because sometimes life isn’t super fun. Sometimes life gets hard. We’re all adults and we can all admit that bills and responsibilities and lack of sleep are really detrimental to our mental/physical health. So imagine the wear and tear it can take on two people who are trying to figure this whole life thing out together. But right there, in the midst of a hard day or a long week, are his funny jokes or silly cards. He is my calm. My silly. My sanity. My happy place.

3. Little things are really big things

Money was tight, we were young, and we had just had a pretty massive argument over something obviously important because I can’t remember it now. He came home after a long day at work to a less forgiving, selfish young bride. He walked over to me standing in the kitchen and handed me a soda fountain cup filled with fresh flowers. He looked at me and said, “I wanted to get you flowers, but I couldn't afford the vase.” It was the greatest gift he could have given me. That day he gave me so much more than flowers. He taught me that the cost of something is not necessarily it's value. The little things we offer quickly turn into huge meaningful gestures, not because of what we spend, but because of the kindness and thought put into them.

4. Your marriage doesn’t always need a hashtag

In today’s world there are more social networks and less socializing. If you go look at my personal page you will absolutely see all sorts of pictures and check in’s of me and my husband. It’s the thing to do now! You can tell everyone what you’re doing and where you’re doing it and who you’re doing it with. This lesson has taken me a little longer to learn because our phones really are a type of addiction. I’ve tried to take a step back from social networking so I can live more in the moment and live a little more privately. You know what? It’s been pretty cool. Just because I don’t tag him in something every day or post a picture of us being all lovey-dovey, doesn’t mean we aren’t happy. We are just busy actually being together without a screen in between us.

5. Love is a choice

Marriage is not something that just works because you signed a piece of paper. It is a daily commitment to love someone through everything. Some day’s are easier than others. But it takes both people willing to show up and choose each other every single day, over anyone else in the world. I will choose my husband every time and he will choose me, not because we are married, but because we are in love. I will show up for my husband every day because he deserves a partner who is fighting for him like he’s fighting for me.