In the movie Forget Paris, the character Andy quips, “Marriages don’t work when one partner is happy and the other is miserable. Marriage is about both people being equally miserable.”
Have you noticed how movies and TV shows tend to portray being married as one of two extremes—happily ever after and happily never after? But in real-life relationships, it falls somewhere in between.
Marriage is not all sunshine and smiles, it’s true. It takes a lot of work, a lot of commitment, and a lot of forgiveness to keep a relationship on the right track. But a good marriage can also be a wonderful source of joy, laughter, and comfort.
A Few Things We Love About Being Married
You know how to cheer each other up.
When you’ve had a rough day, your spouse knows how to ease your mind. And as one husband shares, it can also feel good to be your spouse’s hero when they’re the one having a hard time. “When she gets home after [a terrible] work day and she’s tired, fed up, close to tears … I can change her whole evening with the right kind of chocolate and a neck rub. For those ten minutes, I am literally the best thing in her life. And that makes me feel mighty.”
You have your own private club.
The two of you develop little rituals, habits, and inside jokes that you don’t share with anyone except each other. Plus, you know each other so well that you develop a kind of “spousal telepathy.” With only a look, you can tell your spouse all kinds of things, from “Thank goodness our kids don’t do that” to “Please rescue me from this conversation!” to “Hey there, hot stuff….” 😉
They’re strong when you are weak (and vice versa).
It’s no fun to be coughing, sneezing, and sniffling, but it helps when you have a compassionate spouse to pick up the slack. “There’s nothing more endearing than a man who makes you honey lemon tea and keeps the kids out of the bedroom while you binge-watch Downton Abbey and complain that you’re dying,” writes Annie Reneau on scarymommy.com.
You can be goofy together.
Even if you have to act like a grownup everywhere else, the two of you can let your inner children come out to play. Jennifer Chen reveals, “My husband and I quote Toy Story to each other. For my 25th birthday, he got me a Kermit the Frog doll. I still laugh when he farts. We are basically 12 years old together. And it’s the best.”
“Sometimes I’ll just come dancing like an idiot into the room she’s in just to make her laugh,” says a commenter on Reddit. “Her laughter makes me really happy.”
You can be yourself and enjoy life with your best friend.
On the same Reddit thread, one woman gave this sweet description of her married life. “Being with him is being home, wherever I am. He’s my best friend, my gaming buddy, my gym partner, my cooking partner, my dispenser of cuddles. I don’t have to think around him, I just have to be. No judgments, no worries, no anxieties—he’s the one that makes all of them go away.”
These are just a few of the many perks husbands and wives share. We hope that the benefits of marriage have far outweighed the hard parts for you. What are your favorite parts of being married? Let us know in the comments below.
More reading:
Is Your Spouse Stressed Out? Five Ways to Help
Why Regular Maintenance is Great for Your Marriage
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