How can newlyweds compromise?

As newlyweds, you will have many opportunities to compromise. Most people who get married know a lot about each other going into marriage but there is just something about getting married that opens your eyes to things about your life partner that you just didn’t see before.

You might have been one of those couples that rarely disagreed and then all of sudden you realize that he puts the detergent in the washer once the clothes are all in and you put the detergent in the water before you load up the clothes or after a shower, you pull the shower curtain out and he leaves it all scrunched up. It’s these little differences that you never knew existed that can lead to some monumental arguments.

I was told of a story of a woman that decided to bake a ham for her husband so she went to the store, bought the ham, and then brought it home to cook. The husband was in the kitchen watching her prepare the meal. His wife took a big knife and cut the end of the ham off. He was shocked and exclaimed, “why in the world did you cut that end of the ham off?” The wife said, “because you don’t eat that end.”

Surprised the husband said, “that’s ridiculous, why would we pay for a whole ham to only eat three fourths!”  The wife said, “I don’t know that’s just how I was taught.” So, she called her mom and posed the question to her. Her mom said, “I don’t know, I always did because my mother did.” So, then they called the grandmother and she chuckled and said, “well, I don’t know why you two are cutting the end of your hams off, but my pot was too small so that’s why I did it!”

I learned a lot from this little story. Sometimes as newlyweds, you might be tempted to do things just because that’s the way your mom or dad always did things. It’s wonderful to be close and to honor your parents but, one thing to remember is that you are a part of a brand new family and that you have to decide what is best and what will work for the two of you.