My in-laws celebrate 50 years of marriage next week. We are throwing a big party in small-town Oklahoma with BBQ and gold latex balloons.
We are all about The Fancy.
I’m in charge of the table centerpieces and a few other things. I’m going with mason jar decor since my in-laws are farmers and they make their own food, seed to table.
[black pictures of them dating and their wedding party 50 years ago, tucked into mason jars, with a little gold bow and cupcake picks I got off Etsy]
My parents just hit their 46th year.
I believe we have what you call A LEGACY on our hands. It’s a heavy mantle.
This December we will celebrate 18 years of marriage. I love that guy. I share my life with him. We are in this thing for the long haul. We’ve been to hell and back and we are committed for life.
But do you know how I think you get to 50 years?
You’ve got to do more than love your spouse, you’ve got to like them too (at least most days). Let’s be honest, that line between crazy passion and white fury can be fine. One of the things I love most about my in-laws and my parents is they generally like each other. They enjoy eating together, talking and just being together.
I know it may sound simple-minded, but I know a lot of couples who airquote love each other, but treat one another pretty badly. It’s sort of like the way people feel about extended family sometimes– you probably wouldn’t have chosen them, but here they are.
But we did choose are spouses and that choice is for the good, bad and ugly times. Making a conscious choice to hush when we really want to say something negative or thank them when it cost us something or putting our plans and dreams aside temporarily to make theirs come true–that’s what makes this whole thing work.
I texted my husband this picture while he was sitting in a two day meeting on the other side of town last week.
I love him.
Even more, I like him.
And most of all, I choose to do both even when I don’t feel like it.
Get the Shirt. Tell the world you like them.
Funny side note: I wore this shirt to the airport the other day. I got flagged for a security check because the guard wanted to get the website. Plus, I kept getting “thumbs up” from random men. At first, I was confused (thinking I must look really good) and then I remembered the t-shirt 
Disclaimer: My friends over at Union28 sent me this shirt and this post is part of a joint initiative we have to make our marriages rock!
I get comments all the time when I wear my “My Husband Rocks” tee. My husband and I wore our matching “rocks” tees at Disney last week. love them!!!!
Love the shirt. Going to have to get one of those.
can i just say i like how much you post about marriage?! makes me want to write about marriage more because i agree that it is so important to encourage others in and be encouraged myself in!
my recent post: what i have learned having 5 kids….
love the shirt. and this sticking with it? so very hard. so very worth it. we celebrated 20 this summer. and are grieving and praying just this weekend over a couple dear to us who think they can’t make it….
#7 is my favorite and hardest to do!
Oh, this is so great. Good post!
Love Union 28!
I have gotten a few things from them and I always get told how great those shirts are! 
Love this post! Great reminder to keep on keeping on.
LOVE the shirt!
I should do all ten of these for him today. I was a horrible B this morning and have forgave me and tucked me in and took the kids to the park.
Seriously, I don’t deserve it.
I love the FLIRT idea! I think often we women forget to flirt because we’re afraid of putting a downpayment on something we may not want to buy later, so to speak. And so we stop flirting! But flirting is a great way to rev our own engines, and it makes him feel great. If we stop flirting, we kinda shut down the romance, too.
I’ve got 16 Ways to Flirt with Your Husband if anyone needs some ideas!
I would love to wear that t-shirt! And thank you for the advice. It is always a good reminder.
We celebrate our 19th anniversary next Tuesday. Since we almost didn’t make it to anniversary #7, I consider each anniversary as a major milestone – because it is! This was a timely reminder – think I’m going to go order a shirt right now to wear next week!
Great tips!! I LOVE Union 28 and we have a giveaway going on right now at Woman to Woman Ministries!
Love this post and the T-shirt!! Congrats to your in-laws
Love the 50-year anniversary, and I love that you are committed to making your own marriage a success!
I like and love this
. I totally agree with you on this. I know its been said that love and like aren’t the same, but when you like your spouse, you are really showing them it’s more than duty…it shouldnt be underestimated. Thanks for sharing this!
Amanda.
Perfect wedding/shower gift! Even if they just wear it as a bedtime tee! Great idea – thanks for the link!
PS, We’re at 32 years and still madly happy; my parents made it to 56 1/2 before mom died; my mother-in-law has buried two husbands sadly.
Kristen….I just love this post! And that shirt.
I couldn’t agree more. My mother , married for fifty three years to my father, always told me how important it is for spouses to like each other. It’s the daily bread and butter of married life.