I tend to have an unhealthy view of romantic relationships, either by idolizing them and assuming marriage will solve all my problems or by demonizing them and assuming marriage is a playground of horror.  Thankfully, I have men and women in my life who model healthy relationships.  None more so than my grandparents, Harold and Jean Stark.

I once asked them to describe the hardest thing about marriage.  “Oh, it’s not that hard,” Grandma said.

“What?  Come on.  What do you fight about?” I asked.

Grandpa drummed his fingers against the table.  “We don’t fight.”

Grandma covered his hand with hers, cutting off the repetitive noise.  “Stop that, Harold.  Well, I get mad with how fidgety he is.  But that’s pretty much it.”

I think there is a 100% chance that they have fought at some point in their marriage.  But after 61 years of living together, I find it extremely adorable that those times of animosity have faded into something inconsequential.  Continue reading →