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TEN YEARS AGO TODAY...


...Emily and I "tied the knot".  Yep...it's our tenth anniversary.

I got all wound up and wrote an uncharacteristically epic post on my
personal Facebook account earlier.  It ended up containing my three
best "hidden" tips (i.e. beyond the obvious) on how to live the dream
with a great woman.

Hey, I fully realize that not all of you guys are looking for a wife.

But some of you are.

And regardless of your relationship ambitions with women, it's
always better to relate better with them than not.

So with that in mind, I'm doing the KISS thing and reprinting the
relevant parts of my FB post here for you.

Mercifully, I cut out the mushy parts meant for family members
and Emily herself.

(But that said, if you happen to be friends with me on FB, all
the said mushy stuff--and some pictures--are all out there in
the open. Ha!)



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Ten years ago today married the love of my life Emily.

Time has flown, yet at the same time we both agree that the last
decade has been the most action-packed and richly fulfilling one
of our lives.

Sometime a few months before our wedding day, I sang Frank
Sinatra’s classic “Can I Steal A Little Love” to her.

It was karaoke night at our favorite place, and I sat her in a chair
on stage, just so she and everyone else knew who I was singing
to:
 

  “Tell me honey with a smile
  I can walk you down the aisle
  I won’t even need a shove”
 

Exactly according to those three lines in the song (in order):  she
did, I did, and I didn’t.

We both knew we were meant for each other from the very day
we met.

Soon she was texting me “selfies” of herself looking all cute.

We were having an absolute blast together, and before you knew
it we weren’t simply smitten, we were best friends.

So much has changed in ten years.  In fact, it’s an amazing
phenomenon to be able to objectively measure and define an
entire decade so easily.

Our two oldest are now young adults.  David just turned 21 last
week, and I bought him his first top-shelf drink (and his second…
and his third!)

We’ve been to so many places that Johnny Cash himself would
be jealous.

Dreams have come true in ways that have exceeded both of our
expectations.

Sure, life isn’t always perfect…but the strength of our relationship
and the depth of our true love have turned even the unexpected
road bumps into adventures.

And then, of course, there’s X & Y Communications.
        
I will always believe that being dating and relationship coaches
together has mattered to our readers and listeners over the years.

Walking the talk has mattered even more.  And of course, what you
see is what you get.

It has been so thrilling to inspire others not only to believe a healthy,
mutually-respectful True Love relationship really is possible in the
21^st century, but to empower them to go out and find their honey
and live the dream for themselves.

But importantly, we’ve also been inspired…so very, very much.

Being immersed all day, every day in the art and science of dating,
relationships and understanding “MOTOS” (members of the other
sex) has made OUR relationship the best it can be.

As you can imagine, we’re often asked how we do it.  We’re not
blowing smoke when we say our relationship is never “work” as
we’re often led to believe a long-term relationship must be.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, we don’t ever need “time away”
from each other, either.

Ultimately, with matters basic compatibility, positive self-esteem
and mental fitness (another story) a given, it really comes down to
three factors: