Aging Gracefully

As we age, mature, grow, so do our relationships! Married couples will go through many different stages throughout their lives. How do we adapt? 

The honeymoon stage: a stage defined as a "blissful" but unsustainable perception of the relationship as just about perfect. This stage normally occurs right after marriage.

The reality-just-set-in stage: a more humbling stage where a learning curve occurs. Daily life no longer consists of planning a wedding and a vacation but of continuing to grow in love and closeness, overcome challenges, work on compromise.

The I-think-we-have-figured-this-out stage: a more comfortable stage where both partners feel satisfied they have had small but important successes that have shown them they can do this! It is important to remember you will be in and out of this stage all of your life!

The how-do-we-be-parents stage: although not all couples will have children, those who do will likely spend a decent amount of time in this stage. Truth be told, this stage has various stages and the best thing a couple can do is communicate and contribute together.

The empty-nesters stage: a stage that might feel uncomfortable as both partners have become accustomed to children running around the house for years. This can be a great opportunity to spend more quality time together.

The honey-I-can't-move-like-I-used-to stage: naturally, everyone will reach a point in their lives where they start to feel old. Our bodies change, our health might become worse. Our partner's health might become worse. This stage often requires a physical level of adaption.

Now these are all just some general statements about the kinds of stages we may experience throughout a marriage. There are so many role shifts and adaptions that will naturally need to occur as circumstances change such as starting a family, moving locations, meeting work demands, dealing with family emergencies, financial changes, aging, health, etc. These changes are opportunities for us to grow with our partner. One can hope that we do so gracefully!