Family and Marriage

When Ethan and I were preparing for our wedding I remember talking with my grandmother (who will be celebrating with her husband 60 years of marriage this year) on what makes a good marriage.  We were discussing what she thought and what I thought.  The typical things came up that you hear from successful married partners time and time again...communication, laughter, understanding, forgiveness, etc...

Then I threw something else on the table that I believed Ethan and I had that many couples unfortunately lack. 

A good relationship with our in-laws.

I have seen so many relationships tested and sadly broken because one set of parents is difficult to get along with.  I've had girlfriends tell me stories I couldn't believe about their Mother-in-Law.  I've seen Fathers of friends of mine tell me how much they can't stand their daughter's husband. 

I just can't imagine it. 

I believe this is due to how similar our families are.

From the very beginning when E and I first met I amazed at how many of the stories he told about his family was strikingly similar to stories I had about mine.  Both of us came from families who were strong in their Catholic faith, went to mass every Sunday, and participated in Church functions.  We both grew up being teased and teasing our closest relatives.  We were punished when we didn't follow the rules.  There were expectations.  We were not spoiled, but we didn't suffer.

Our dads share the same desire to always be working on some project, fixing something that is broke (or about to break, or not even broken...), or figuring out how to make something better.  My dad would LOVE to have Bill's truck, Bill would LOVE to have my dad's workshop.  Ethan and I often joked that if his dad drove his truck into my dad's workshop they would never leave.

Our mothers both stayed home while raising their kids.  They kept clean homes and cooked for large families.  They both have a great talent for making friends with others through the power of conversation.  That was just a long way to say that they talk a lot.  A gift, thankfully, they passed on to Ethan and I since the majority of the beginning of our relationship was spent on the phone.

Marriage is the toughest of all God's callings...or so I'm told.  Today there are so many examples of marriages that don't end up working out for one reason or another.  I just know that Ethan and I are so lucky to come from two families where marriage has worked.  And because of that, I believe the odds of success are in our favor in a big way. :)