If you don’t mind me asking, how is your relationship with your wife like right now?
Also, what other tips could you bestow upon us?
I don't write much in the forum and definitely not personal shyt.
But this is what I will say (LONG POST)
Well, at this point, my wife and I been together for 13 years (married for about 3.5 of them). We have not had a tumultuous relationship where there are arguments everyday. But over the 13 years we have had a couple of pivotal moments that really changed the arc of our relationship for the better. I can tell you, those changes came because we listened to each other to understand one another's perspectives on the issue and not to be the loudest or the most right. I'll offer a story...
Back in the beginning of our relationship, yrs 2-4, we transitioned to a long -distance relationship as she moved out of town for medical school. As she started her studies, she mentioned meeting a ton of new classmates, some of which she knew we would become lifelong friends. There was a time during this period where she was doing bar crawls with them and going out quite regularly. I've never been a club guy (more of a house party type of dude as you can manage what happens). I expressed disapproval and asked her not to go out to the clubs anymore. She told me that she would not stop hanging with friends and that "I needed to sort out any insecurities I had with myself." She wasn't wrong. At this point in my life, I was a mid-twenty something dude who was in the process of course correcting my college mistakes. I was grinding hard, taking 21/cr a semester to graduate, working so I could pay rent (and see her), and just did not have time or energy to be my gregarious self. I kept what she said to me FOR YEARS after she said it.
Fast forward, I graduated college 2 years later and moved to the town where she was studying to get my masters degree. Was able to secure a job, get a fellowship, and find free housing which made the move super sweet and cheap for me. A this point, she was nearing the end of her studies which required her to be at work for crazy hours (sometimes over 80 hrs a week). So, I moved into this new town, developed my own friends (some female), and had hella time on my hands. I would get invites from the homies to hang out and do shyt, some house parties, dinners, study sessions etc. That's exactly what I did. I made sure she knew my new friends to try to dead any crazy talk. I would invite my wife to the parties, dinners, kick it sessions but she was tied up with work. She all but accused me of cheating because she felt insecure. I told her to "sort out her insecurities with herself." I wasn't doing anything crazy but getting to know people. Besides, these were people she knew too. Soon after, I graduated from grad school and we both moved out of town together. The insecurity issues we both had remained unsolved. Lesson here is you can be right and wrong at the same time. My energy was spiteful and could've upended all we built. We did not address what happened for years (actually a few months before we got married, about 3 years after moving) and we almost didn't get married. We had to really dig into our insecurities to figure out what happened, talk that shyt out, then come to a conclusion on how we would address what happened. We talked bout this specific issue for a whole weekend.
My relationship with my wife is great. We have a kid now and we parent together well. We ask about each others needs and try to meet them. We are vocal about those need, recognizing though we have been together for over a decade, we are not mind readers.
Lessons:
1.
If you're going to trust your partner, trust your partner- We do a ton to safeguard our hearts to prevent from being hurt. If you say you're going all in with a person (to the point where you start dating), you have to give the relationship some latitude for trust to be established. If you don't, you will always be wondering what they are doing and that isn't healthy
2.
Have your own hobbies, friends, and interests outside of the shyt you do together- We all need that space to do the stuff that invigorates us. Does not mean you disregard the couples shyt. Just means you get some reflection time away from family (at times) to do you. Personally, I work on my car, and that shyt starting to look nice too!
3.
Communicate- This is hard at times because the messages might not be what your partner wants to hear. But it is important to share because it gets things out in the open. If you have someone who is willing to reflect on what you said and is not defensive, yall can come to some conclusions quick.... Also, communicate the good shyt too! Let your partner know what is working.
I've learned a ton over my 34 years and am FAR from perfect. This definitely isn't all of the lessons but are a few that I LIVE BY. Things have been pretty good for me. I hope this answered your question.