Top 5 marriage tips on my 5 year anniversary

Fellow steemians,

5 years ago today my wife and I walked down the aisle together and have never looked back.

In the past 5 years collectively we have been through:

• Lived in 4 different states
• 4 different jobs each
• family loss
• one home purchase
• birth of our first son

This along with the day to day challenges that we all face! After all of that I can honestly say that there is not a single thing that I would change. There are good days and bad days, but I know that at the end of the day I'm sharing it with my best friend and partner.

Thinking back through some of the lessons that we have learned together, there are a few standout things that have helped us maintain the amazingly strong relationship we have today!

1. Overly communicate
   This may seem obvious but we aren't mind readers, a lot of the time when I rthink I'm being clear she has no idea what I'm talking about. Most of the time taking that extra 10 seconds to explain or clarify or work through a disagreement can make all the difference.

2. Go to bed mad... and then work to resolve it in the morning
   Some of the WORSE advice given is to never go to bed mad. When tempers are flaring an neither of you are thinking rationally it is highly unlikely that a reasonable conclusion will be reached. Only hurt feelings. Sometimes the best thing to do is just go to bed and start fresh the next day

3. Trust
   This applies to all areas of life including time and money. We trust each other to make good decisions for BOTH of us, not just one. This trust that we looks out for each other is key to our healthy relationship.

4. Consideration
   The ability to consider the other person's feeling has been key, when about to make even small decisions take a second to think about your partner. Doing little things to improve your partners life will add up over time and bloom into a relationship of mutual respect and appreciation

5. Send flowers
   Guys out there..... it's not hard, ladies love flowers. But even more, they love what flowers REPRESENT. Flowers represent that you took a few minutes out of your day to think of your partner and do something spontaneously nice (nor maybe not)

I hope these tips and advice are helpful! If you like them add your own in the comments below! Would love to hear what works for you all!
Mike