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who is neat and organized by nature.
“Tom is happy-go-lucky and freespirited,
and he has no interest in
organization or planning, while I tend
to be an extremely neat and an organized
worry-wart, constantly
carrying around my chart of our todos
and upcoming events,” she admits.
Yet, all it takes is a few words from
her husband to take the stress out of
Lara’s life.
“We have a lot of the same interests
and hobbies, and yet we are so vastly
different.
He has the uncanny gift of using
his humor and silliness to turn any
bad situation around, and he can use
his humor and easy-going personality
to easily make me forget why I might
even have been upset. Our relationship
has been so strong and lighthearted
because of this,” says Lara.
Some say that the way to a man’s
heart may be through his stomach,
and Jen’s culinary skill in the kitchen
is just one of the key ingredients that
Rick finds irresistible in his wife.
“Jen is smart, attractive and
extremely thoughtful. She's always
doing wonderful things for me. For
example, recently, she made fresh
pasta from scratch with a very tasty
Bolognese sauce. It took her hours to
make but was well worth the time,”
Rick says.
Rick’s sense of adventure also adds
spice to their lives together.
“Rick is intelligent, very patient,
and we both like to try new things.
He has a really great family, too,”
Jen continues. “He always goes out of
his way to make me feel special and
plans fun things for us to do together.
A few years ago when we were still in
college, I told Rick how much I would
love to go to New York City and see a
Broadway show. I had never been to
New York before. Rick called my parents
to ask their permission to take
me and surprised me by flying me to
New York for a long weekend to see
‘The Producers.’ We went all over the
city and to so many great places. It
was such a huge surprise.”
Keeping the faith
Faith is an integral part of these
couples’ relationships. They feel blessed
to have each other and believe that
their faith will see them through good
times and the more challenging times
that married couples inevitably face.
“Rachel and I have a lot to be
thankful for. We are fortunate to both
have wonderful families, close
friends, and a close relationship with
each other. We attribute all these
things to God's blessings,” Brad says.
Counting on one another and
believing in the Lord brings these
couples even closer as husband
and wife.
“We enjoy going to church together
on Sundays and believe in the importance
of giving our time and money to
worthy causes. During college, we each
struggled with our faith at different
times. It was nice to have someone
there for me during those rough
times,” Rick admits.
Faith has already melded Tom and
Lara’s family life together.
“We have the same beliefs, and our
families follow the same traditions.
This likeness has not only brought us
so much closer together, but it has
also brought our families together.
We share the same strong morals and
values, and we have already been able
to work together to raise our daughter
to follow these same ideals,” Tom and
Lara concur.
Secrets to a successful marriage
Communicate, communicate,
communicate.
Each couple realizes the importance
of spending quality time together
whenever possible and talking, even
if just for a few minutes to catch up
on each other’s day.
During their courtship, Rick and
Jen lived in different cities. Yet, they
spent an hour or so on the phone
every day. Now that they are married,
they still find it important to verbally
express what’s on their minds.
“We always make time to talk to
one another. Sometimes we will just
relax on the couch with a bottle of
wine and talk about the past day. I
really like how we are able to plan
together and talk things through,”
Jen comments.
Furthermore, Rick understands
that it is also important to express
love in a way that your spouse
understands.
“Jen loves it when I send flowers to
her at work or do the dishes after she
cooks a great meal,” he says.
Tom says, “Considering we are
two completely different people with
different personalities, Lara and I
always make a point of understanding
each other’s perspectives.”
For Brad and Rachel, honesty, a
willingness to communicate openly
and compromise are essential components
in maintaining a successful
relationship.
“Forgiving easily and taking time to
enjoy activities together have also
been helpful to us,” Rachel says.
Lessons learned from their parents
have even more meaning now than
when these couples were in high
school.
“Compromise is also a key component
to maintaining a successful
relationship. Good advice that I got
from my mom regarding marriage
was to ‘have a short memory and
don't hold grudges,’” Brad concludes.
Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin Seasons Spring 2008 15