Mondays are for Marriage. I wanted to start a blog series all about what I think is most important of a strong marriage. Here we go!!!

Webster’s Dictionary defines marriage as an intimate or close union. A union is an act of joining two [or more] things together. That’s a pretty accurate description if you ask me.

We’re definitely no experts on marriage, only being married for 5 years.

We dated in high school…

(HA!! We were babies!!)…then off and on during college, then ended up getting married in October 2010, but we have been through our fair share of struggles (including my husband being diagnosed with Hodkins Lymphoma, Chemo, Radiation, and more-you can read more about that here). But we have some AMAZING examples from our parents in what a great marriage is. And their parents.

One of the most important things that I have found when it comes to marriage is respect.

The ONE thing that ends up with me and my husband being upset with each other is when we start to lose respect for the other.

Sometimes I’ll have a crappy day.  Our baby just wants to scream at me all day.

I’m stuck washing dishes, and cleaning the house, and cooking breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and all i want to do is sit on the couch and watch “Chicago Fire.” (HELLO SEVERIDE! haha!) He’ll come home, ask me “what’s for dinner?” like he does pretty much everyday, and i’ll LOSE IT! Like crazy-lady-status lose it.

I know it’s a problem, and it always ends up badly. For a moment, I forget about that respect that I have for him. The fact that he works so hard all day so we can live the way we do. And I COMPLETELY forget about the respect he has for me. When he’s grateful that I have done the dishes, and cleaned the house, and made food for him, even when he doesn’t say it. Without that respect, things fall apart. I talked about Websters definition of marriage, but their definition of respect is “a feeling of admiring someone that is good, valuable, and important.”

I love that my husband works as hard as he does. I definitely value him, and what he does to provide for our family. And he’s SO important to me.

Now he’ll be the first one to tell you that i’m stubborn. When i’m right, i’m right, and when I want something, it’s best not to argue about it, because it’s going to happen. There’s times I take advantage of his easy-going attitude and forget how grateful I should be with him.

It’s too easy to forget about the little things in marriage. It’s too easy to get caught up in what everyone else’s family has, and what yours doesn’t. It’s too easy to overlook the importance of making sure your boyfriend, or fiancee, or husband knows how much you respect them or appreciate them.

This week, let’s do a better job!

How do you show your significant other that your respect them and that they matter to you?