My husband and I have been married for 14 years. That’s a pretty long time by today’s standards. There is no magic trick to make a marriage work and last forever. But there are a few things we have done to strengthen ours. I would honestly say that the most important part is that we do things together. Not the mundane chores and sitting together at kids sporting events, but cultivating some common interests and hobbies so that there are fun experiences that can be done as a couple.

One of our absolute favorite things is Nascar racing! That might sound crazy, but we actually do both enjoy it. I never watched racing growing up (horseback riding all the way!!) but my husband did follow racing with his dad when he was a kid. We haven’t always loved Nascar, it was almost an accident that we discovered it. My husband and I run a small construction company and back in 2015, he had purchased the most of a certain brand of door knobs at the local Menards store. So for such an outstanding accomplishment 🙂 they sent us for race weekend at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet since that company was a sponsor for one of the race teams. I must say, I was less than thrilled. I was very pregnant – 33 weeks – and did not really want to spend the weekend walking around the track. But being the good sport and fabulous wife that I am, I accompanied my husband to the race. I am so glad we went, it was amazing and we both fell in love with the sport.

We watch every race Cup level race together. It doesn’t matter if we’re on vacation, or if he’s deer hunting. We will either plan our day around the race, or I will wait to watch it until he gets back from hunting. It is just something we do together. It has given us a specific time, almost every week, where we know we will sit down, stop doing everything else, and spend some time together. Watching racing on TV, isn’t like watching a movie, so we talk throughout the race.

We also love to watch movies and TV shows. I personally love action and comedies, which lines up right with my husband’s taste. What guy doesn’t love a good explosion or gun fight? When it comes to TV shows, we watch ones that we both like together at night. I also have a ton of prime time shows I watch that my husband doesn’t, so those shows I watch while I exercise on the elliptical. I never liked the idea of sitting down and watching my TV shows in the family room for example, and my husband going down to the basement to watch something else. What kind of relationship is that building?

We probably spend more time together and talking than most couples because we run a small construction company. We are both very involved in it. He mostly handles the construction side while I do the designing and picking out finishes. We spend a lot of time going over different jobs and discussing the projects we have going on. I know some people say that they could never work with their spouse, but I don’t mind it at all. I love how we have worked out our system for the company. It runs smoothly and although we may disagree on certain job related things, it never derails us.

I think that all the time we spend together on our common interests and hobbies has really helped strengthen our marriage. I feel that finding and maintaining an interest that both of us like is very important because it will provide time for us to spend together. Friendship is a very strong component of a successful relationship and needs to be cultivated and worked on continuously.