Shelby's Life and Whatnot

The Secret

Today at work I was at the registers and it was nice and slow so I got a chance to chat with each guest as they came through. I had this darling little old couple buying a couple of bears for their grandchildren. I asked, as I usually do, "Are you here on vacation or do you live nearby?" (remember, I work right outside of Disneyland). The woman said, "Oh we're from [I can't remember]. We're here celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary!"

How cute is that???

So I said, "well congratulations! What a wonderful thing." The woman then looked at my hand and said, "That's a beautiful ring--are you married?" I thanked her and said that we'd been married for 5 years, and we really hoped to make it to 50 (although when I say that now, it sounds like "god, I hope we make it to 50 but it's not likely" which is not at all what I meant). The man piped up and said, "I'll tell you the secret!" I was like "Yeah!" He said:

"It's compromise and communication. You always have to talk about things [woman nods her head]. And you have to compromise. For example, she doesn't like sports [woman shakes her head] but she will go to ball games with me because I like them. And then I'll go to... [thoughtful pause, followed by the woman saying, "...the Garden and Flower Show..."] yeah, the Garden and Flower Show, because she likes it. And the other thing is that you have to say "I love you" every day. And you have to say it out loud. Some men say [*in a gruff voice*] "Well she knows I love her" but you have to say it out loud anyway. Because some men don't think that's manly, but it's important [woman nods her head]. And that's it!"

So there you have it, folks--the secret to a long, happy marriage!

Have I mentioned lately how much I love my job?