To celebrate 22 years of marriage to one Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama took to Instagram recently to mark the first couple’s two-plus decades of marriage.
So sweet!
And to commemorate the couple’s Big 2-2, I went ahead and compiled five tips for a happy marriage that Michelle has shared over the years. Clearly after 22 years, they're doing something right.
TIP 1: Appreciate the Everyday Moments
“When the kids go to bed and after he's done a little reading, we're usually curled up in our den, and we'll watch a show together. Or we'll talk and catch up. It's nothing major, but that's what marriage is about. Not the big, splashy stuff. It's just the little day-to-day sharing and routines and rituals that we still have.”
TIP 2: Be Prepared to Put In the Work
“Marriage is hard work. Even the best of marriages require a lot of work — even if you're married to your soulmate who has very few flaws. Building a life with a person other than yourself, and raising kids and dealing with all of the bumps and the bruises and the joys and the pains that go along with life, that creates the natural state of marriage, and it's a challenge. I say that to people not to discourage them but to say that you will inevitably hit those bumps. Don't view that as a shortcoming of yourself or your spouse or your marriage. Don't give up on it. Just understand that you're going along the path that everybody else goes on. Go in ready for the work.”
TIP 3: Know When to Let It Go
“I might want to talk to him about an issue I have with what he said the other day, but you know what—it's not really that important. I’m stockpiling a list of issues that I'd like to discuss with him in 2016 though.”
TIP 4: Laugh—a Lot
“I think in our house we don’t take ourselves too seriously, and laughter is the best form of unity, I think, in a marriage. So we still find ways to have fun together, and a lot of it is private and personal. But we keep each other smiling and that's good.”
TIP 5: Keep the Romance Alive
“Got to keep the romance alive, even in the White House.
He remembers dates, birthdays, he doesn't forget a thing, even when I think he is
I'll have a little attitude. I give him a little attitude, but he always comes through.”
Happy anniversary, you crazy kids. (Sorry it's belated! #bridalmarket) Next up, Michelle, I’d kill to hear your skin care regimen.