PORTLAND (NEWS CENTER Maine) -- Every marriage goes through phases.
There’s the courtship and honeymoon phase full of fun and romance; the business phase full of family and work obligations; and for those who manage to stay together long enough, there’s the third phase of marriage known as "companionable romance." It involves two people who like sharing their lives with each other.
Licensed marriage and family therapist Jack Burke says that couples who make it to, and enjoy, the third phase of marriage generally understand three things:
- Liking and loving each other is fun
- Any issue can be solved with patience and creative problem solving
- "Let it go" is a specific process as well as a wise maxim
So how can couples set themselves up for success in the third phase of marriage? Jack has these suggestions:
- Right now, today, take care of your health; we owe that to each other
- Make and stick to a financial plan
- Don't panic over aging; gray hairs are not lethal
- Nurture the heck out of curiosity
- Embrace fun wholeheartedly
