Relationships

i have been fortunate to be married to one man for 25 years. Has it been easy? Hell no! It has been a lot fun but a lot of hard work as well. We have had our ups and downs. We have had our arguments. But through it all we have had several things that are constants:

1. TRUST
2. HONESTY
3. FIDELTY
4. COMMUNICATION

With the above have been lots of laughs, tears, anger, and growth. When we took our vows at our wedding we vowed to be there for each other thru good times and in bad. The good times have FAR outweighed the bad. The good times have included the birth of all of our kids and watching them grow and mature. The good times have been watching our relationship grow and mature thru the years. The bad times have included the death of my mom and my diagnosis of breast cancer.

Through all of this, my husband's and my relationship has done nothing but GROW stonger. I love my husband with all my heart and soul. I can't imagine myself living life with anyone else. We were friends first and are best friends still. Being friends is much more important than being lovers. Friends share so much more than physical intimacy.

Basically to bottom line is this: if you want to be in a LIFETIME relationship with another person, the relationship has to be built on TRUST, HONESTY, FIDELTY, and COMMUNICATION! It's hard work to be in a relationship that is happy but it is well worth it.

I hope I have conveyed this to my kids. I love you Joe, Sarah, Kevin, and Dan. Steve, I love you with all my heart and soul!