FEBRUARY 2016
PA R K E R C O U N T Y T O D AY
bed mad and always remember those
vows you took.”
Drawing a line in the sand and
daring your spouse to, “just try and
step over it,” is hardly the key to eternal, marital happiness, according to
Dr. Buckner.
The secret for staying happily
married according to wife of 38
years, Debra Smith is, “compromise
and laughter.”
Helen Dill, who has been married
to her soul mate for more than half a
century, agrees, and says her secret
is, “Compromise, compromise,
compromise is the key to a long
marriage. That and stay busy.”
Talking to each other is another
key element to marital bliss, according to Leo and Susan Scott.
“We have both always said
communication and compromise
are the keys to a good marriage,”
Susan Scott said. “You have to feel
the marriage is worth everything, and
you will talk to the end of time to
work things out. If you’re not willing
to do that, then the marriage didn’ t
mean much to you to start with.”
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Another factor important to a
happy, successful marriage is sharing common beliefs, according to
Natalie Parish. When asked what has
kept her marriage strong, she said,
“Our faith in God, prayer, laughter,
forgiveness. Time together, just the
two of us.”
Determination and dedication to
stay with your partner through the
highs and low that life dishes out is
yet another key factor to an enduring
and loving marriage.
Lisa Graves believes that the
secret to any good marriage is for the
woman to have some great friends.
“Of course I’m giving the woman’s
perspective,” she said. “I laugh when
I give this advice to others, but I do
feel it is a factor because women
need to laugh, talk, complain, and
cry to get things out of their system.”
She believes that men don’t want
that stuff.
“On a more serious note,” she
added, “I strongly believe in the
commitment to each other, there is
no giving up when you’re committed.
Committed to stay together, commit-
ted to work things out, committed
to be a family, committed to our
marriage.”
Drew Springer has been happily
married to his lovely wife Linda for
16 years. According to him, a little
creativity and thoughtfulness go a
long way.
“It’s not so much the big things
that makes a marriage happy,” he
said. “What keeps romance alive
are the small things. So many guys
will be watching television, especially sports, and they just sit there
and ignore their wives. You can pay
attention to her and watch television. Why not give her a foot rub
while you’re watching television?
That’s a little thing, but it’s the kind
of little detail that will make a big
difference. You don’t have to spend
a ton of money on a five-star restaurant to have a great evening out. A
little Italian Bistro, one that lets you
bring your own wine, can be just as
romantic as an expensive place. A lot
of that is up to you.”
It’s easier to keep romance alive
with someone who shares your inter-