I recently learned my good friend Steph is moving to Denver with her family. She has been living abroad–Malaysia and Romania–with her diplomat husband and three children. This absence made her bereft of The Event of the Century: my courtship with Jamie.
They are currently house hunting and so we had them over for a Labor Day BBQ. Before long, the sordid details surfaced. They listened in bewilderment as we recounted our tale, an account that few people know to its fullest extent. It reminded me how far we’ve come and those things that make our marriage work.
Marriage Tip #1: Honesty
Some of our good friends have six kids who are all well-behaved, always on time and downright pleasant. I recently marveled at them.
“…I mean, they’re just amazing. Can you imagine me with six kids?
“Sure I can!”
“Yeah, right. I’m barely surviving with two. I would be a basketcase!”
“Don’t worry, Amber. You were a basketcase long before you ever had kids.”
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Marriage Tip #2: Empathy by walking a mile in your husband’s shoes.
The Denver Post recently threatened informed me of a pending soft launch of Mile High Mamas. I was far from ready so spent last week stressing, working and stressing some more. It has been a long time since I have worked under such stringent deadlines and by the end of the week, I was spent.
“Jamie, I don’t know how you constantly work under such intense conditions. The stress just about killed me.”
“Do you see why I need time to unwind when I get home?”
“I sure do. I’ll tell you what: before walking in the door, why don’t you do an extra loop around the block?”
I'm a Canadian-born mom of two, former Denver Post columnist, family travel writer, editor of MileHighMamas.com and 9News contributor. Expert on all things Utah, Denver, family and travel. Lover of laughter and life. Happily married to a man obsessed with growing The Great Pumpkin. 