Couples who get married thinking that marriage is a 50/50 proposition have a lot to learn about marriage AND math. Folks who brag about being brutally honest seem to enjoy the brutality more than the honesty. I dont trust parenting experts who hold up their own family, not just as an example of their own at home laboratory, but as the perfect ideal. No matter how good things get, I can always find a way to mess it up. Two quick and fairly accurate ways to assess someones character are 1) whats on their bookshelf, and 2) how they handle money, no matter how much they have. Perceived needs always rise to a level slightly above income Its a wise person who gives up what they cannot keep to gain what they cannot lose. God has a great sense of humor, and Ive got proof! - each and every time Lauren and I have a fuss at home that I dont handle well, I can pretty much guarantee that the very next couple with whom I work, usually that very day, will have similar issues that Ill handle just fine. Which leaves me banging my head, thinking you dummy, you dummy, you dummy! Adults tend to talk about teenagers as if they are at best, from a foreign country, and at worst, another planet. We ALL hurt in the same places. As much as I am blessed to get the inside perspective on the female view of the world everyday in my office or seminars (and every night at my house!) Im still just a male. Always have been, always will be, not really interested in changing that or the surgery involved. Which simply means that there are certain things I will never completely get. And what I have found to be worse, it will never even occur to me at first to consider some things, just because I have never actually, physically looked upon the world through female eyes. Id trade all my success in a second for that wonderful feeling you get when you spend time with a trusted friend who understands and accepts you. There are still times when I wish I could talk with and get my dads perspective on a problem. Many of the things that my male friends find hilarious just dont amuse my wife. Marriage, like success, or just about anything else, is really not so very difficult. The tools are out there, and have been for a long time. We just have to be willing to consistently use them. Theres really just no room for pride in an intimate relationship. As soon as I hear myself judging someone, or saying I would never do that!, I know it wont be long until Im faced with a similar situation. Most marriages could be saved if folks would just listen to a different radio station. Most spouses listen to radio station W I I F M (W hats I n I t F or M e?). We need to switch to radio station W C I D - T S Y (W hat C an I D o - T o S erve Y ou?) Most folks operate under the false notion that you cant see in to car windows at a stop light. |