Someone you can’t live without

I was married 24 years ago today at the Newton Chapel on Mercer’s campus. It was an afternoon wedding and, of course, it was very hot. Would you expect anything less in Macon, Ga., in July?

The air conditioning in the church wasn't working that morning, and it took a long time to get the building cool.

That was a very important lesson from the very start. Don't sweat it. Things aren't always going to be perfect, even though you want them to be.

Several years ago, I wrote a column about the wonders of being married to my little cheerleader for 15 years. That used to be just a blip on the marriage monitor. Old-timers would laugh and tell us we were still on our honeymoon.

But, these days, they treat you with awe and respect. And, now, when Delinda and I tell people we have been married for 24 years, they treat us with respect and wonder.

I don’t know all the reasons why our marriage has worked. We do have good lines of communication. We don’t always solve everything, but we talk.

And it’s true that opposites attract. I’m an early riser. She loves to sleep late. I’m forever in a hurry. She has no concept of time. I’m cold-natured. She is hot-natured. We are forever battling over the thermostat.

Yet, sometimes, we can walk in a restaurant and order the exact same thing – right down to the salad dressing. It happened the other day.

I’ve given this advice a number of times. I will stick with it.

Never marry someone you know you can live with.

Marry someone you can’t live without.

[Listen to a sample (No. 15) of the "marriage" column on my new audiobook.]
Click here for more info and audio clips.