Celebrating 5 years of tolerance.

I'm asking you to indulge me with this blog post. Today I am celebrating 5 year's of marriage and I felt that it was worth marking the occaision by writing about it.

Earlier this week, I asked the Other Half, what did he think the key ingredients were to our marriage? He replied "Trust, Honest, Respect....and Tolerance". We both laughed for a moment, but then I said "I think you're right, I think that being tolerant with each other has been fundamental".

I've written before on Minerva's Mind, about how my husband and I have a number of common interests including the Great Amercian Drama and the love of good food (tonight we will be sharing a Chateaubriand at a fabulous restaurant). But that's not what keeps us together: it's our ability to rise above the daily battles.

I'll give you a couple of examples: My hubbie believes that there is an exact method for stacking dishes in the dishwasher. I personally believe that time is more important than the effort required to ensure that I am maximising the use of the dishwasher; A more generic example is my laid-back attitude versus my husband's risk-averse approach to life. How do we get around these daily conflicts? Tolerance.

After five year's of marriage, we now have two small children. They drain us of energy but they also give us so much pleasure. But everyone knows that when we're tired, we're less tolerant. My hubbie and I constantly remind ourselves of our need to be role models for them. We support each other when faced with challenging situations as we try our best to respond appropriately. By doing this, we teach our children the importance of tolerance.

I chose to write about how important tolerance is in our marriage, as I think without it we wouldn't have survived. But it's just one of the many things that I value in our relationship. This isn't a blog about "love conquers all", but something much more than that. My hubbie is my best friend, the person who keeps me grounded and always brings me chocolate when I most need it. Here's to another five years.