“Today I marry my best friend, the one I laugh with, live for, dream with, love.”
I’ll never forget the first time I saw that quote on a wedding invitation. I think I was 12. The point is, 20 some odd years later, it stuck and still holds true. And when I met my fiancé and we talked about what he was looking for in a relationship, I found that it wasn’t just my romantic notion. When I boiled down what he wanted, the same quote came flooding back to me. So, if you want forever with your man, and don’t just want to rely on a Cinderella solution, here’s what you need.
- Be his best friend. If I’m going to be with someone for the rest of my life, I want someone I can talk to. I don’t want to see us looking at each other in silence across the breakfast table for years to come, or worse, ignoring each other completely. Remember, communication is everything. And because we can talk about anything, we work and we last. It makes us so much closer than some of the other couples we know.
- Create a shared history. There’s something to be said for the ties that bind. And nothing will bind a couple together more than a whole lot of shared happy memories. We were off to a strong start when we took a long weekend beach trip early in the relationship. We went parasailing. We walked the beach at sunset. We woke to watch the sunrise. We were completely relaxed and happy to be experiencing all of this together. Through the years, we work to create happy moments all the time. It’s the glue that keeps us together, all these experiences that we’ve shared and can’t imagine sharing with anyone else.
- Have shared interests. We love being near water. We love doing home improvement projects. We work together like a well-oiled machine. We love trying new things. If you are going to share your life with someone, make sure that you have lots of things you like doing together.
- Follow your shared dreams. We have some big dreams together. We want to move to a beach destination. We want to live near the ocean. It’s a place that we never tire of. And so we are constantly researching and planning for that eventuality. It’s getting closer all the time. What are your shared dreams? Make sure that you are pursuing them together and you’ll be amazed at how it secures your relationship.
Relationships are challenging. And when you find someone you want to be with forever, make sure that you do what it takes to last forever. It will be well worth the effort.
When Nicki isn’t offering relationship advice, she’s writing about love, life, and parenting on Suddenly Single Journey.
