The Eleven Commandments

  1. Put on your own oxygen mask first.
  2. Don’t try to Do it All—it never works, and will only succeed in making you crazy.  Ask for help when you need it.
  3. Be there for your friends, and they’ll be there for you.
  4. Keep the lines of communication open between you and your spouse.
  5. Make sure that you and your spouse are on the same path in life, or at least headed in the same general direction.
  6. Work through your past so it doesn’t affect your present.
  7. Address your first family issues so they don’t carry over into your relationship with your spouse and kids.
  8. No matter how far you and your spouse have come, realize that there’s always another challenge around the corner.  Which leads me to…
  9. There is no Happily Ever After, not in real life.  And especially not in a Marriage with Young Children.
  10. When all else fails, laugh.  A lot.
  11. And never, ever give up.