You guys can keep this going here if you want. It is a learning process for all of us.
We really need to practice empathy when validating. Empathy = understanding of another's feelings: the ability to identify with and understand another person's feelings or difficulties.
This is a tough one for me, especially if that person's feelings are different from mine. I automatically get defensive; like "what do you mean you are unhappy with our marriage? I'm happy therefore you should be too"
I think it was yoyogirl that said it best: some of us have been married for a while and with jobs, kids, obligations, etc. we all tended to take our spouses for granted. In hindsight, we wish we didn't do this but we didn't know any better, we just did what we knew how. Now we know better and will hopefully have the chance to have a much more fulfilling and happier M.
