Yesterday, August 19th, my husband and I celebrated our 38th anniversary. We were both very young when we were married, I was only 17 and my husband was 18. The best advice given to me was from my soon to be mother-in-law. I’ll never forget her words…she said, “if you’re getting married with a back door policy then you have no business getting married.” Through all the ups and downs we’ve shared ~ having a back door policy was never an option. I’m so proud of the man I married. He has given me a love that I cherish everyday and I know without a shadow of doubt just how lucky I am. I just can’t help lovin that man of mine!!!Most Hollywood couples don’t make it but somehow Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward managed to stay together. I don’t know whether or not it's really true that he wrote the following letter to his wife on their wedding day…but does it really matter? It’s still a beautiful and profound message just the same.
Paul Newman's letter to his wife on their wedding day
“Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens. A good marriage must be created. In the Art of Marriage, the little things are the big things. It is never being too old to hold hands. It is remembering to say ‘I love you’ at least once a day. It is never going to sleep angry. It is at no time taking the other for granted; the courtship should not end with the honeymoon; it should continue through all the years. It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives. It is standing together facing the world. It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family. It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy. It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways. It is not expecting the husband to wear a halo or the wife to have the wings of an angel. It is not looking for perfection in each other. It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding and a sense of humor. It is having the capacity to forgive and forget. It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow. It is finding rooms for things of the spirit. It is a common search for the good and the beautiful. 
It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal, dependence is mutual and obligation is reciprocal. It is not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner."
