The D Word

note: i started writing this post back in january, but it seems very appropriate right now.

***

In every marriage
more than a week old,
there are grounds for divorce.
The trick is to find,
and continue to find,
grounds for marriage.

I have been looking at quotes about marriage for couple days now. Besides the occasional funny quote about annoying ones spouse or marrying for money vs. love, most seem to be less than uplifting. Looking for a positive quote about marriage? Forget it. The quote above really resonated with me. Kevin and I have been together for over 7 years. I know it doesn't seem like much against those with 10, 15, 20 years under their belt (not to mention we've only been married for less than 2), it is a good deal of time for a couple of 26 year olds. Technically, yes, we are still in the honeymoon phase. But that's not a pitfall. I hope we're in this honeymoon stage for the rest of our lives.

Lately, it seems I am surrounded by couples (mostly friends from college/high school) that are calling it quits. Yep, the big D word: DIVORCE. In our pre-marital counseling, Kevin and I were challenged to remove the word from our marriage vocabulary. It was, and still is, our goal to be one of those couples that married for the right reasons, stay together for the right reasons, and build our lives together for the right reasons. Ultimately, we didn't want to just recite our vows, we wanted to live them.

Since things have been particularly difficult for us ever since we said "I do" we have been focusing on creating a marriage based on love, honesty and open communication. If we can't talk to each other about what is bothering us, how are we supposed to deal with it? When times get particularly stressful, we bicker (mostly about the most ridiculous things!) but we always get it resolved. He is my partner and I am his. We are trying to combat this world together, sending out as many positive vibes as possible and hoping the efforts will be rewarded with simple blessings - a job and a family. Almost two years in, we are still waiting. One day. One day it will get better. We can't chooose to think any other way. Right now, we are just overwhelmingly-thankful to have each other. We're slowly learning that not much else matters.