Before you get married, you get so much advice.  The old cliche about not going to bed angry, say I love you every morning, and a multitude of other canned platitudes that people say so they feel wise.  The problem I have with advice is that it just begs to be ignored.  I imagine sitting in a bridal shower filled with veteran wives who feel superior to a young, naive bride.  They’re throwing out advice like a middle aged sports fan throwing out calls on game day from the couch.  So from now on instead of advice, I’ll just share what I’ve learned.  Plain and simple, sharing what you’ve learned with someone is less intimidating, more sincere and allows the recipient to apply the knowledge in their own way.

Without further ado, here are 10 things I’ve learned since I got married.

10.  I have to care for his heart in a completely different way than I do for anyone else.  I’ve found that old adage “A special place in my heart” to be more than true and I always try to remember his is not like everyone else in the world or even the room

9.  Sometimes you have to eat food you don’t care for. He eats fish for me, I can deal with the occasional pork chop.

8.  Seeing him excited about his passions gets me excited, even if I could care less about the topic.  Weird.

7.  Technically, there’s not “I” in “We”, but there is.  Trust me.

6.  Streaks on the fridge are not important enough to get my heart rate going anymore.  The sound of him gnawing on his fingernail, however, is.

5.  Home repairs are so much more fun with someone else.

4.  In all respects, it’s all about the journey.

3.  The butterflies never go away.

2.  I can’t believe how much his opinion means but I also can’t believe how I feel as free as I did before we got married.

1.  Being content doesn’t equal being bored.

What has marriage taught you that you might not have believed before you got married?