This weekend, my husband and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary!  We went out to dinner to my favorite restaurant and enjoyed a wonderful Italian meal.  When our waitress first came over to the table, we told her it was our 30th anniversary.  She was a young girl in her mid to late twenties and she asked us, “What is the key to a happy marriage?  Think about it for a while and I’ll come back and you can tell me later.”

When she came back to take our order, my husband asked her how the broccoli was made. She said it was sauteed in oil and garlic.  He said with a smile, “That’s the secret to a happy marriage, don’t eat too much garlic.”  She laughed at that and said, “Unless you both eat garlic!”  True.

I had been thinking about her question and at the end of the meal when she brought each of us a cannoli.  I said, “I know what the secret to a happy marriage is.  Marry someone you are in love with.  Too many people marry because they think it’s time, because everyone else is getting married, or a million other reasons.  But if you aren’t in love at the beginning, you won’t be in love at the end.  The other thing is you need to respect each other.”  She smiled and nodded her head, “I like that!  I’ve haven’t been in love yet.”  I said, “Then wait until you are.”

http://www.theresadodaro.com   Author of The Tin Box Trilogy