Well let me put some thought into that question. Marriage is beautiful but since I stay on the keep it real train, I have to say there are some drawbacks. A lot of women can’t wait to be married. They have no idea that it’s work. They have no idea that often times it can distract you from what you want to do. The days of just getting up if you remove the kids from the equation and just doing my own thing don’t fully exist. I miss the days where I didn’t have to have a plan. I miss the carefree days of not having to wonder did I feed another person let alone myself.
Marriage makes you have to think of another person and their needs and how it will all fit in a larger setting. This isn’t something that I would want to exit my marriage for but it does make it hard when you want to do just do you and you can’t. I don’t have a worst part but I can highlight some of the challenges we faced during our marriage that we have overcome. One of those challenges was in the beginning we lived with his mom to do a 5 year plan to pay off bills. In one regard it benefitted us financially to save and pay bills. The draw back was that we were in someone else’s home. It didn’t mentally or emotionally work out in our favor. I know now that I am unwilling to live with another person outside of my husband and kids. The mental anguish that it gave was too much and in order for us to stay married that’s how it has to be. Again others have done the same thing and have survived and have even liked it. I have been an independent flower all my life. I watched my mom has us in shelters and from other folks’ home. Once you get your own going backwards to someone else’s rules and the way they do things just doesn’t work for grown people. Most people will act on the surface that it works but since people are people will always push their agendas. The same happened and because of it, I now know that if we should be in the same situation it could be a breaking point for us. I know that isn’t something to say but he and I are honest about that. We won’t sugar coat it. One thing I appreciate now that we are out is now my husband is more aware of my needs. He is one to be sure that if I am even going into a challenge to check on me often.
Another challenge that I know I personally had in my marriage was not communicating well. I think most couples go through it. There are better days but some days are truly the type of days where you have to really push yourself to keep entering your home. Its like having all this love for a person but still wanting to slap them and their parents at the same time for having to deal with whatever the issue has thrown. I am sorry but that’s about as real as its going to get. Everything in marriage ain’t lingerie and smiles. There are times when fights occur. You will have moments where you have to stop dishing the silent treatment and deal with things. Those moments make you cry. It can make you mad but it will produce growth.
Lastly the use of the word divorce. We had moments when that was our reality. I would caution all couples that are married or planning to be married to NEVER use that word unless you ready to sign that day. Being mad is one thing, but being mad enough to threaten the word or the use of divorce is never a good thing. We were headed for disaster. We had to come to the realization that the kids weren’t going to hold us together. Either we were in or continue being out. There was no middle.
I have nothing but love for my husband. He is my college sweetheart. The love is there but the knowledge that the work lining up with the love is more apparent. I was one of those sugar cookie kids who got married and had all of this high hopes of what my first year would be. I imagined me leaving love notes all over the place. I imagined myself just skipping off to the sunset. I can’t say I didn’t leave notes in that first year but I probably said more curse words than I had ever before too. We fought and we fought hard. I had moments when I thought I would have been better off with an ex. He and I have talked about this so don’t act like you getting a fresh brew of tea. You aren’t. We are human and flawed but perfect for one another. We have made it through things most people would have been packed up and left. Did I mention my suitcase of clothes for me and the kids that stayed in the car? Yeah I found myself being a runner. I run naturally but I found myself running for every little thing. He came home late, I’m out. He spent more time with his friends than me, I was out. Any excuse would tip me over the edge. I wasn’t ready and if you are like I was, you better count up the cost.
Please know that you can weather the storm through babies, depression, lost of jobs, etc. It will happen. There’s no escape. But if you love and truly have love for the woman or man of your dreams, you can do it. Our motto is “its he and I against the world.” We know that and live by that. We had to learn that we were and are on the same team. Instead of trying to win all the time and seeing the person as an enemy we had to change the mindset. If you are married you know what I mean. You know that moment that you ASSume everything. You know what that usually leads to. Assumption can lead to more martial strife than anything. You think you know the person so well that you use what your mind has already told you about what “may” happen and then you go off on that. I have had plenty of I thought you said arguments than a little bit. Be clear on what your goals are. If not than you will find yourself battling for days, weeks even months for something that wasn’t even to be.
