Best marriage advice you have ever received?

My parents have been happily married for 31 years. My mom told me once, "I didn't always like your father, but I always loved him." Meaning- there will be times when you fight, there will be times that are hard, but in the end remember why you love each other!

Marriage is a decision you make every day.

I haven't received a lot of relationship advice and much of what I do is bull. The only relationship advice I really give (other than applying it to more specifics) is to communicate. Passive aggression and assumptions and shit cause a lot of resentment that could be solved by just talking about what your problems are (and, conversely, communicating happy things will generally be nice for both of you).

offtopic, because it's in a different context, but annakay, we talked about that phrase in child psych and it was really interesting. It went to discussion and some people felt like their parents saying that made them feel like they were saying 'I don't like you or want to be around you, but I have to love you and I can't do much about it or leave you or anything.'

My parents have been married for 42 years. When I asked my father once for new made it work, he responded, "Forgiveness, a lot of forgiveness." It's true. You have to let all the little annoyances go and focus on the important things.

1. If words don't work, hug it out. ((It sounds corny, but it works!))

2. The thing about not going to bed angry is a lie. Sometimes you need to sleep on it and spend some solo time thinking about what you're fighting about.

I've heard: Never be afraid to be the one that loves the most. It's so hard because often we unintentionally keep score.

My dad once said, "All a man really needs is food and sex". Umm.... OK, Dad.... well, I thought it was so funny, I mentioned it to my husband, who said, "Yep, that's pretty much true. We're simple creatures". While I certainly do NOT believe that either my dad or DH would be happy in an otherwise miserable relationship as long as they were fed and banged, I take it more as a 'if I keep my eye on the basics and make sure I'm happy, chances are good DH will be, too."

My mom has told me several times "never stop touching each other".

Not just sexually. Cuddling, hand holding, just touching. Also means emotionally- the tender, sweet sentiments shouldn't stop when you are married. Always staying physically and emotionally intimate.

@Aver that's really interesting!! I guess a lot of the reaction to it depends on the environment you grew up in but my parents have always been happy together, and to me it's a reminder that real love isn't a fairytale all the time! @Snarky I 100% agree with you about the going to bed angry thing...when I go to bed mad, I nearly always wake up feeling like whatever I was mad about was so stupid!

My cousins (second cousins; they've been married for about 25 years) told me to treat our marriage as though it is protected by a golden circle - in essence, don't let other people's opinions infiltrate. I don't know if I am expressing what they said in the the best way possible, but for me it made a lot of sense. You and your spouse always have each other's backs, and don't allow other people's opinions to have any weight in anything.

I always get "always go to bed at the same time" and "cuddle even when you're mad". It its nearly impossible to go to bed at the same time all the time if you are both working different hours and have any separate social time but I guess the point is to try our best to share that time together. FH loves when I wait up for him if he's out or working on something at home. Lol its the little things!