Marriage, the good, the bad and the ugly

Ganjababy

Well-Known Member
I always find it interesting when I think about how my opinions have changed since I became married and how there are actually worse things than cheating.

One thing that never entered my mind prior to getting married is the fact that people can outgrow each other or grow in different directions. This is sad.

Also, sometimes some people stay in their marriages only because it's easier than divorce. I remember a guy friend telling me this. I was surprised but apparently it's not that uncommon.

Another factor that I never considered is that just as one can fall out of love within a marriage, the love and bond can become deeper.


What new insight have you gained about marriage since becoming a wife?
 
I knew marriage involved some hard work when I chose to do it but you don't realize how hard it can really be until you are in there! But when you tough things out it is so rewarding. I never thought I would ever quote Beyonce but lol, she had it right when she said when you are married you are forced to face your personal ish...you cannot hide from it. Being intimate with someone on so many levels requires you to face your faults.

So you either become a better person so you are both happy or your marriage will fail. That's why choosing wisely is so important because if you are with a good person he will bring out the best in you and make you a better person and make you want to be a better person for him. But if you marry crap...well...crap begets crap.
 
I knew marriage involved some hard work when I chose to do it but you don't realize how hard it can really be until you are in there! But when you tough things out it is so rewarding. I never thought I would ever quote Beyonce but lol, she had it right when she said when you are married you are forced to face your personal ish...you cannot hide from it. Being intimate with someone on so many levels requires you to face your faults.

So you either become a better person so you are both happy or your marriage will fail. That's why choosing wisely is so important because if you are with a good person he will bring out the best in you and make you a better person and make you want to be a better person for him. But if you marry crap...well...crap begets crap.

Yup. I never thought my husbands verbal abuse stemmed back to my mom & childhood. Now that I've faced my past, he's become a much nicer person. The energy has changed. He still has a lot of things he needs to face but he's working on it.

Our partners are really like mirrors.

ETA: Still don't care if he stays or goes though. Long as he continues working on himself.
 
Yes, there are a lot of challenges when you get married. You can fall out and the spouse begins another relationship while you are living together. Narcotics, gambling, weight gain and anger issues. It takes a lot of maturity to grow and change when necessary. My husband did not really want to get married. He wanted to be a single person with amenities. It did not work out. I am happy without him. Me and my son.
 
I learned that marriage is a roller coaster and that the "in love" feeling comes and goes. The true test of real love is your actions. Love is something you DO every day, not necessarily something you feel every moment.

In the beginning, I would obsess over that feeling and how to keep it or get it back or not mess it up. Now I know better and marriage is much more fulfilling and I actually feel it more. Funny how that works.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using LHCF
 
I can say that if you are selfish and everything has to be about you, DO NOT get married. You will make yourself and the other person so miserable. I never knew how selfish and spoil I could be until I got married. Marriage is truly about COMPROMISE, and if you feel like you have to win every battle :nono:, don't do it. I had to learn to get over things and not want to drag out stuff just to prove a point. It's not about proving a point but working to see what will benefit BOTH of you.

I am having to learn to think "married" if that makes since. I was single for so long , so I had a single mentality which is completely different from a married women's mentality.

Marriage is WORK and it is not about a feeling but about a commitment. It can be so fulfilling but you have to work at it to make it work, it wont just fall into place by itself. You have to purpose your marriage and be intentional about it.


The good: :look:

It is so beautiful to have someone in your corner who has your back. The bible says two is better than one, because when one falls the other can pick you up. To have a man who respects you and love you is priceless. To have someone who knows how you feeling without you even having to say anything. :love2: I said in one thread that my husband loves me so much and that only makes me want to give even more of myself. He truly brings out the best in me.
 
I would really appreciate more responses. I'm getting married VERY soon and I love reading the stories and words of wisdom in this thread.
 
This is a repost of one of my threads. The author is a high school friend of mine. Customize it and use it how you see fit.
http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=679725

DON'T GET MARRIED IF...

If you're not ready to delay gratification when you are angry. To hold your tongue, lower your voice and sometimes wait till the appropriate time, day or even month before you can deal with an issue thoroughly.... don't get married. Immaturity is the inability to delay gratification. Marriage is for the mature.

If you're not ready to leave center stage and allow someone else to become your focus, your study, your muse... don't get married. Selfish people make very bad spouses. In marriage you don't lose yourself but your heart has to be big enough to gain someone else. And soon, with God's blessing: little, crying, diaper soiling, demanding little ones are coming!

If you are not ready, to stand up and calmly deal with meddling in laws as a united front: The opinionated sister, the insensitive uncle, the domineering father, the manner less brother, the nosy aunt..... don't get married. Boundaries do not exist automatically, they must be created. A good spouse is committed to respectfully stand up for and protect their marriage from meddling relatives. Don't abandon your spouse to your relatives. It's betrayal.

If you are not ready to pay bills.... don't get married. Love does not pay bills. Kenya Power will not give a waiver because your love is O so strong and your gazes at each other, O so romantic.

If you are not ready to let go of your opposite sex "best friends" and invest that into your spouse. To like, to laugh, to play, to be silly and to enjoy life with them, above anyone else... don't get married. Affairs happen because people did not marry their best friends. Someone else holds their heart. Someone else gets them better. Someone else inspires them more. Marry your best friend and cultivate your friendship so that you remain best friends.

If you are not ready to stop competing with the Joneses.... don't get married. Let the Joneses buy their yacht when you are still walking, and enjoy the walk. Your journeys are different. They may have to cross the oceans but you may be going through the road route. A boat might not do you any good on your journey. You must be ready to pace yourselves: stop competing, stop spending your future before you get there, stop the debt, stop trying to impress people. You must be able to be content. To enjoy your journey without deciding your happiness simply by measuring your progress against other people.

If you are not ready to be an open book. To tell the whole story of your past, deal with the memories, expose the failures and risk rejection.... don't get married. It is fraud to have someone sign off their life to you without the full details. The past is a touchy and demanding friend. It always shows up in the marriage. It doesn't enjoy being ignored and the more you snob, the bolder it becomes and the more tantrums it throws. It will mess up the "neat" and "all together lovely" image that you are struggling to maintain.

If you are not ready to let go of your philandering and wild oats farming.... don't get married. Don't take somebody's son or daughter and subject them to your germs, your indiscretions and one night stands. It never ends well. It's romanticized in the movies, it's being fronted as the only "realistic" way to stay married and keep the fire burning. But truth be told, the only thing that the fire will burn will be you, your spouse and your children. That family will burn for generations in bitterness, disease, fear, failure, hatred, broken hearts and broken dreams.

Finally, if you are not ready to let go of the adrenalin rush of a risque life and to settle down.... don't get married. The great Columbus who we were told "discovered" America had a diary that was long sought for. People wanted to read about the wild journeys, the sea tempest, the reckless pirates they fought, the death and the danger they must have encountered. When it was found, there was great disappointment. Majority of the pages simply had 5 words: "This day, we sailed on.".

Marriage, like life in general, has many "we sail on" days. You have to learn to find the thrill in the normal everydayness of it. If you depend on wild romance, all night sex [ha], romantic cruises, wild parties, compulsive moves across continents, tempestuous fights and make up sessions to be happy, you may be disappointed. You have to learn to thrill in gentle smiles, loving hugs, knowing looks, cozy moments, shared chores, cute babies, everyday work, dreaming together, praying together and simply living together. If these things are not thrilling, exciting and satisfying, you will look for a way out. The "boom twaff" moments are still there, but they are normally punctuations to the usualness of living. They cannot be your reason for getting married. They are unsustainable on an every day basis. The one you choose must be thrilling to you even in the most mundane of moments.

I pray this helps someone. Remember singles, YOU HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF CHOICE. Never let anyone pressure you into marriage. You are either ready or you're not: You decide!. But please don't marry somebody and then punish them to live with your childish ways for the rest of their lives :-). A childish baby is cute but a childish adult is extremely frustrating.

Marriage is for the mature and in many ways, we the married, are still being confronted with the demand to grow up day by day. If you are not ready for that demand, don't get married!!!!


Barikiweni.

BY PASTOR JUDY KARANJA
 
Yup. I never thought my husbands verbal abuse stemmed back to my mom & childhood. Now that I've faced my past, he's become a much nicer person. The energy has changed. He still has a lot of things he needs to face but he's working on it.

Our partners are really like mirrors.

ETA: Still don't care if he stays or goes though. Long as he continues working on himself.

The bolded IMO is the crux of it all and the hardest thing to face and maybe the most complicated part of marriage. You really do have to learn to lovingly give yourself whatever it is you want and need. You have to have a truly deep and healthy love and sense of compassion for yourself, otherwise it is very hard to get that from your spouse. Idk why it works that way.
 
There is truth in the book '5 love languages' by Gary Chapman. Knowing/understanding yours and his really can help.
 
I can say that if you are selfish and everything has to be about you, DO NOT get married. You will make yourself and the other person so miserable. I never knew how selfish and spoil I could be until I got married. Marriage is truly about COMPROMISE, and if you feel like you have to win every battle :nono:, don't do it. I had to learn to get over things and not want to drag out stuff just to prove a point. It's not about proving a point but working to see what will benefit BOTH of you.

I am having to learn to think "married" if that makes since. I was single for so long , so I had a single mentality which is completely different from a married women's mentality.

Marriage is WORK and it is not about a feeling but about a commitment. It can be so fulfilling but you have to work at it to make it work, it wont just fall into place by itself. You have to purpose your marriage and be intentional about it.


The good: :look:

It is so beautiful to have someone in your corner who has your back. The bible says two is better than one, because when one falls the other can pick you up. To have a man who respects you and love you is priceless. To have someone who knows how you feeling without you even having to say anything. :love2: I said in one thread that my husband loves me so much and that only makes me want to give even more of myself. He truly brings out the best in me.[/QUOTE]


I love this post, especially the bolded. In our bible study class last week it was about relationships and marriage. I know the bible only says for husbands to love their wives and no instructions for how the wife is to love her respond. The teacher said its the woman's job to be the responder. If the husband is loving his wife, the wife will have no choice but to love him back. Your post reminded me of what he said.
 
Yup. I never thought my husbands verbal abuse stemmed back to my mom & childhood. Now that I've faced my past, he's become a much nicer person. The energy has changed. He still has a lot of things he needs to face but he's working on it.

Our partners are really like mirrors.

ETA: Still don't care if he stays or goes though. Long as he continues working on himself.

I learned that marriage is a roller coaster and that the "in love" feeling comes and goes. The true test of real love is your actions. Love is something you DO every day, not necessarily something you feel every moment.

In the beginning, I would obsess over that feeling and how to keep it or get it back or not mess it up. Now I know better and marriage is much more fulfilling and I actually feel it more. Funny how that works.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using LHCF

Agree with all of this...espeically the bolded. I am also a firm believer is being there for yourself. Validating yourself, fulfilling yourself. No one has your back like you do...this way when people fail you...and they will. It's ok.
 
-it's not as bad as many made it out to be: I recall many horror stories before I married. Someone's else's struggle may not be that of your own.
-compromise and communication is key
-you must work to keep the magic flowing or it will fizzle
-compliments and praise works wonders to reinforce the things he's doing right
-you never get too old to have fun
-work through issues privately, friends and family don't need to know everything
-men aren't mind readers as much as we like for them to be -- tell him what you want, like, don't like, etc
-family & faith first, everything else comes after
 
Choose your words carefully.

Listen

Respect each other or else you are doomed.

Build your spouse up.

Love is great, but actions speak louder.
 
Remember that you are both HUMAN....no one is perfect.

TWO WAY (lol) Communication is extremely important.

Be careful who you trust around your partner. There are women out here that put on a false godly/nice/friendly persona but will try to break your marriage apart. I know of a woman in Philly who claims to be minister...actually preaching on the pulpit....who was/is having an affair with someone's husband. smh
 
Communicating about everything (yes, EVERYTHING - big and small) is always very important. We love discussing it all.
 
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'when you're dating you get the best of them when you get married you get the rest of them'

My pastor said those words and I didn't believe him. Now I'm divorced. Marriage is serious business and a lot of work. Everything is seemingly geared towards destroying the union from outside family members to each person simply being stubborn and unwilling to be vulnerable and work together.

Marriage is not for everyone. You may think its what you want, but keep thinking until something in you says its a must in your life. Now that I'm on the other side, I truly understand what it means to be 'called' to marry. Both parties have to be willing to be open and communicate.
 
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I have learned so much from my marriage. Prince Charming is a myth. In my opinion, it appears to be a myth for everyone. No one is perfect. And thats ok.

I am still married but 5 days out of 7, I could give it back. I agree with someone who said you sometimes stay because its easier than divorce but its bigger than that. I stay because its become my life. I'm not unhappy enough to go but I surely am not happy enough to declare marriage the best thing since sliced bread.

I think marriage is work and so much a state of mind. You're often as happy as you want to be. That's where choosing well is so important. Also acknowledging growing apart is key. Sometimes either partner can grow away and then both people are just stuck. You love each other too much to hurt purposely but you die a little everyday you stay. So you tell yourself you're a wife. Everybody goes through ups and downs. And all the other stupid advice you get when its way past time to go.

But i think marriage is good for folks who have grown together. The only way I think you do that is to choose someone who matches you in the beginning.
 
*Be prepared for anything.
* You both will change
* Scarfices will be made, more for the women I believe.
* You will have a major issue in your marriage. I haven't met a couple yet who hasn't.
* Don't let everything that gets on your nerves about him show. Lol learn how to keep your cool.


Most important!!!
Don't fix all the relationship problems. Meaning don't talk to him about it. Follow up. Stay mad etc. Act like it never happened.

Men get very confused by this. I think they expect a emotional reasponse from a woman and if /when they dont get it they freak out. Go out with friends, go shopping whatever but don't say a word.

I wish i would've figured this out when I first got married. I interalized every fight and it ruined a many of days. Now....

I smile and and keep it moving. :look:
 
Both of you have to strike a balance between accepting the other person as they are and ensuring your needs are met. For instance, it's easy to get frustrated and shut your spouse down when he or she reacts to a situation differently than you would have. It takes patience and effort, however, to respect (even if you don't understand) your differences and respond to your spouse as you'd like to have him/her respond to you when the shoe is on the other foot (because it most CERTAINLY will be).

I'm also a huge believer in this:

DON'T GET MARRIED IF...

If you're not ready to delay gratification when you are angry. To hold your tongue, lower your voice and sometimes wait till the appropriate time, day or even month before you can deal with an issue thoroughly.... don't get married. Immaturity is the inability to delay gratification. Marriage is for the mature...
Your spouse will hear your delivery just as much as (if not more than) they'll hear your message. I know conventional relationship wisdom says you should "never go to bed angry", but the flip side of that is arguing all night might be your only other alternative. Granted, rehashing something after both of you have moved on isn't a good idea, but neither is forcing yourself to cycle through your feelings on someone else's schedule.
 
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I love this thread!

there's so much insight in this thread. I want to print it out and put it in my binder.

I don't go into the Married Women RT threads too much because that's the harbinger of doom thread. There is such a thing as knowing too much. :look: This is right up my alley. I really appreciate these sorts of threads because shared information is less personal about detailed events and more about the overall learned lesson. :yep:
 
I love this thread!

there's so much insight in this thread. I want to print it out and put it in my binder.

I don't go into the Married Women RT threads too much because that's the harbinger of doom thread. There is such a thing as knowing too much. :look: This is right up my alley. I really appreciate these sorts of threads because shared information is less personal about detailed events and more about the overall learned lesson. :yep:


:lol::lol::lol::lol: girl now someone married is going to go post over there talking about how you said they shouldn't be honest and that they should lie about marriage. careful with your words!! they saw one of my comments and they got me!!
 
I love this thread!

there's so much insight in this thread. I want to print it out and put it in my binder.

I don't go into the Married Women RT threads too much because that's the harbinger of doom thread. There is such a thing as knowing too much. :look: This is right up my alley. I really appreciate these sorts of threads because shared information is less personal about detailed events and more about the overall learned lesson. :yep:

:lol:

:lol::lol::lol::lol: girl now someone married is going to go post over there talking about how you said they shouldn't be honest and that they should lie about marriage. careful with your words!! they saw one of my comments and they got me!!

Someone got you? :lol: I think I missed that :lol:

That thread is very helpful if you are married. I love it :yep:. There is a reason we have so many different kinds of threads. Thank goodness we have lots of options.
 
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