Having been married for 33 years, Shirley and I were still in love and considered ourselves happy and secure. To be honest, I didn’t want to go on the marriage course as I thought it would be a waste of time. Still, Anne was persistent, so we succumbed and began the course.
The first week was nothing new, although slightly awkward as we had to talk on cue! There was a good atmosphere and the video made us laugh.
By weeks two and three some cracks began to appear, issues we had papered over for years were coming to the surface, and were a little uncomfortable to deal with. By this point we realised that our marriage wasn’t perfect after all, and there were areas that we needed to address. We appreciated the privacy during the course, so that we could be honest with each other without being overheard.
We began talking about the buried issues and saying how we really felt, in fact one night we didn’t finish talking ‘til gone midnight. We learnt to say how we really felt and to forgive each other and ourselves for thoughts and feelings we had harboured for years.
We didn’t finish the course because Shirley had her hip replaced, but it started a journey that we are still travelling, and we are closer and even more in love than we have ever been.
The strength of the course is not really the book, the venue or even the video; its real strength comes from a willingness to be honest with each other, and to have the courage to face any issues that may come up. Nothing is forced, or engineered, but I guarantee your marriage will be changed in direct proportion to the willingness you have to be committed to it.
Stewart and Shirley Page
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