Jack Every time you raise a hot-button
issue, such as the in-laws or money, does your husband suddenly clam up Take
heart, more than 80 percent of the time, it’ s the wife who brings up sticky
marital issues, while the husband tries to avoid discussing them. This isn’ t a
symptom of a troubled marriage—it is true in most happy marriages.
Lilian I watched many couples fight about one major
issue. After four years, 69 percent of these successfully married couples were
still fighting about the same problem. When you marry, you automatically inherit
your set of unresolvable relationship problems. If you married somebody else,
you’ d have a different set. Patrick You’ll
often hear that staying in a bad marriage is worse for everybody concerned—that
getting divorced. That may be true if your home is so riddled with hostility it’
s like a war zone. But I found that 75 percent of couples who rated their
marriages as miserable but stayed married were happy five years later.
Brandy Every couple experiences disappointment as
initial romance and passion fade and they discover all their differences. He
doesn’ t do enough housework. She’ s too emotional. He watches too much TV. She’
s too lenient with the kids. We usually think the strongest marriages are those
that survive major traumas, but frequently, it is those daily annoyances that
eat away at a marriage. Anthony What if she is
in corporate sales and he is a musician She prizes safety and security while he
longs for adventure She loves watching football at home while he is a rover
with a passion for sailing Less resilient couples might see such dramatic
differences as grounds for divorce. But paradoxically, it is this unbridled
independence that holds marriage together. Now match each of the
persons with the appropriate statement. Note: there are two extra
statements.Statements
[A] Deal with little things.
[B] Silence doesn’t spell trouble.
[C] Take a leap of faith.
[D] Divorce is not the best solution.
[E] We don’ t have to solve every problem.[F] Relive beautiful moments.[G]
Love your differences.