Making It Last Forever

To go along with my Sunday Story, In a Heartbeat, I found these great tips I want to remember from F. Burton Howard.
Sometimes with the responsibilities of life, the relationships that matter the most get forgotten. Suggested dos and don’ts for making marriage last forever:

• Treat your marriage differently than any other relationship by doing something special for one another. Mark often writes me love letters, which I treasure.
• Don’t make it common or ordinary by doing the same thing. Put some variety in your life.
• Shield it by being loyal and speaking kindly of one another.
• Don’t expose it to the elements by betraying personal confidences or private matters.
• Protect it by being thoughtful and considerate of one another’s feelings.
• Never abuse it or take it for granted.
• It’s less likely to become tarnished if you spend quality time together doing things that you both enjoy, but if it does, take time to lovingly polish it until it gleams like new.

I believe marriage or any other relationship “becomes special because you have made it so, and it grows more beautiful and precious as time goes by.”