Getting married to your man is an exciting event to look forward to, but before you say your "I dos," you need to do four things to ensure your relationship will last.
1. Travel together
Going on a road trip will put you and your future husband in close quarters with each other for a long time. You will start to recognize different aspects of your relationship when you are stuck with him. Little annoyances, like singing loudly and off key to every song that comes on a radio is tolerable for the first 20 minutes, but after three hours in? Maybe not so much. You might discover that traveling with your man makes you or him more irritable with one another or more tolerable.
Being able to communicate during stressful conditions like getting lost or losing hotel reservations will help you solve problems together in the future when money is tight or your children have broken something expensive. If you can get through a long road trip together and look back on it with fond memories, consider it a green light for your marriage.
2. Disagree with each other
If you always agree with your future husband, take a step back and think about your relationship. Disagreements, arguments and different opinions are important in a healthy relationship. Sometime down the road you are going to disagree about a course of action, so before you get married, it is vital that you learn to compromise.
3. Discuss expectations
You most-likely have an expectation of how your marriage is going to operate. Perhaps you expect him to split the household chores evenly and for both of you to work full-time when you have children. On the other hand, he might expect you to stay home when you have children and do all of the household chores since you are a stay-at-home mom.
Before you get married, tell each other about your expectations for necessities like money, children, jobs and household duties. Most importantly, discusses your expectations for each other. You need to know what he expects of himself and of you. He needs to know what you expect of yourself and of him. Then compromise with one another.
4. Spend time apart
You love each other and therefore, you want to spend every moment together, but now is actually the time to spend time apart. Someone once said distance makes the heart grow fonder, which is true, but distance also make a relationship healthier. Men and women need companionship in friends and family. As much as your future husband loves you, he might not understand your need to talk for hours about everything under the moon, but your best girlfriend totally understands that need. Don't be afraid to have a girl's night without him.
If you don't trust your man when he is away, you must learn to do so. Make expectations clear when it comes to talking to people of the opposite gender. Something to him may seem like a innocent action, but it could look like cheating in your eyes and vice versa.
5. Live with someone other than family
Living with someone who was raised differently than you is important before you get married. You don't need to live with your fiance to have this experience. Living with roommates teaches you to solve household problems like dirty dishes and general cleanliness. You get used to not having lots of privacy and dealing with other people's quirks. You also learn how to compromise and how to have healthy conflicts. These experiences teach you how to adjust to another's living habits, which is a vital skill you will bring into marriage.
These four things will shed light on all aspects of your relationship. Understanding every side of your future husband will help your transition smoothly into your married life.
