Marriage Relationships

In marriage realtionships we expected to learn a number of
things including the comprimises couple must make with
respect to such things as careers, finances, and children.
Our initial impressions were that couples must be willing
to make these sacrifices in order to have a long and
fulfilling relationship with their spouse.
 
In our discussion on pre-marital sex we both agreed that it
was fine as long as it was done responsibly, meaning with
the use of contraceptives. We stressed contraceptives
because we felt that it was important not only to protect
against pregnancy but as well as sexually transmitted
diseases. We did however experience one conflict. Laura
felt that love and serious committment should play a major
role in whether or not a couple should have sex prior to
marriage. I on the other hand was a little "looser" on the
subject. I felt that it should mean something but that
there was too much emphazes being placed on serious
committment.
 
On the subject of contraception anf family planning we had
no disagreements. We felt that before having children we
must first be able to establish ourselves financially. So
once our respective careers were settled upon we could then
plan when we would have children. However, until we did
decide to have children we agreed that contraception would
be used.
 
The discussion we had on which topics which couples should
agree upon was filled with lots of disagreements. We agreed
that couples should agree on topics such as issues
concerning the children, and major career decisions. We
began to disagree on the issues of finances and the
distribution of housework. I felt that I should handle all
the money as well as do my share of the housework. Laura
however, felt that she should be in charge of the money and
that I should do all the housework. In the end we weren't
able to settle on anything but we realized that it was
important for married couple to agree on these topics
because they are major decisions that affect both equally.
 
The time we spent together was on our lunches and we
discussed different aspects for marriage. We realized that
couples who were willing to comprimize on important issues
were the couple that would be sucessful. The ones that
didn't discuss the various problems which concerned them
could never have lasting relationships. This is why we felt
that marriage preparation courses are so important. People
should not get involved in something as important a
marriage without knowing what to expect of their partner
and of what is expected of them.