It’s amazing what we do, all in the name of love.

The other evening I saw a couple, in their sixties, dressed up in formal wear. The man was wearing a tuxedo, and the woman had on a long beautiful dress. They were obviously going to a fancy party, and looked very nice.

“Don’t you both look lovely,” I said. I couldn’t resist, and I could tell the lady was excited about what she was wearing and felt good about her outfit. She had that “I look good and I know it” look on her face.

“Thank you,” they both said and smiled, but that wasn’t it for the gentleman.

“I’m glad I look good, because I feel uncomfortable as hell. I hate wearing this suit, and I can hardly breathe. SHE made me wear it.”

He made a face, pointed to his wife, and was clearly unhappy.

“What we do for love,” he said, and shook his head.

His wife rolled her eyes and told him to be quiet. Their interaction made me think they’d been married for a long time.

It was funny. And the gentleman was right. We all do things we don’t want to do for the people we love. Especially our spouses.

I’ve been married for over twenty years, and Jon and I have learned to compromise over the years. We do things we don’t want to do, for each other, all in the name of love.

If we didn’t, we wouldn’t be very happy together. Each of us has changed a lot over the years, in mostly good ways, and we’ve learned to bring flexibility and compromise to the table. We’ve grow together, found common interests, and made spending time together a priority.

Marriage isn’t the fairytale princess story we all grew up hearing about. It’s hard sometimes. It takes maturity and a desire to work things out, even when life gets hard. Especially when life gets hard.

The key is to work through the tough times, enjoy the good times, and be willing to bend a little bit. Recognize it’s ok to have disagreements and even arguments sometimes.

You might not want to put on a tuxedo and be uncomfortable. However, if that’s what it takes to make your spouse happy, then do it, with a smile on your face.

Find meaning each day,

Dara