10 things that happily married couples do

Thanks to Valentines day, February is typically a month to think more about love and romance. There is so much written on the subject, but one thing is clear. Marriage matters for many, many reasons. As marriage drops in popularity in our country, so does the moral fabric of our civilization. I just read this article in Time magazine this morning while I was eating my oatmeal: "We are casting aside the institution of marriage and with it the notion that children should be raised in stable two-parent families. This is a social catastrophe."
To counter that trend, I also read this week another great article about 10 things couples can do to make or keep their marriage strong. I think they are worth mentioning here:

1. Have positive conversations.
2. Show affection.
3. Remember that you are each other’s therapists.
4. Be humble and cultivate Christlike attributes.
5. Date frequently.
6. Enrich your intimacy.
7. Spend time with children and grandchildren.
8. Seek feedback and help each other.
9. Eliminate anger.
10. Be sensitive to each other’s stress levels

My all-time favorite short piece of counsel on marriage came from President Gordon B. Hinckley, who shared this important key to a great marriage: “A happy marriage is not so much a matter of romance as it is an anxious concern for the comfort and well-being of one’s companion." If you want a happy marriage, do what happily married couples do.