8 years here!

It is always a choice. Choose to make him happy every morning and to be happy yourself and you'll be surprised what you can do!

Read "The Surrendered Wife" and "First Kill All the Marriage Counselors" by Laura Doyle!!!! & congratulations! :D

I've only been married about two years, but I was giving great advice by a friend who has been very happily married for almost 30 years; marriage does take work. Don't come in to this thinking it will always be the "honeymoon phase". You'll have ups and downs-learn to work TOGETHER don't just give up or think you can do better.

And like the others have said, never stop dating your husband. Treat the 1st year of marriage, 10th year, 30th, and so on like you did when you first met- make him feel special, don't let yourself go, make yourself the best spouse you can be.

Try to learn what type of man he is. They come in many varieties and they can be secretive about who they really are.

Take note of what is important to him. How he likes to spend his time. What is political leanings are. Watch his relations with other men and his opinion of these men because this is key to understanding what he respects or does not respect.

The trick is to do this without questioning but more by observing without being observed "doing the observing".

Watch his emotions and what emotions he shows in front of you and or others. His emotions can give you clues into what he values by the emotions he shows or does not show.

What brings tears (or does'nt) to your mans eyes will tell you much about him.

To understand a man understand what he "identifies with" that makes him a man in his eyes. Understanding this identity and what supports it (what makes him feel like a man among men)can go a long way in avoiding unnecessary conflict.

An example could be his work that makes him feel competent and in this competency he feels manly.

For men, women often make up a large part of how they create their masculine identity. Sex and identity are tightly joined together for men, where their sexuality supports their identity.

You can understand any man when you understand what he identifies with that makes him a man in his eyes and the eyes of others.

This understanding can give you insights and wisdom that will be beneficial to married life.

Sorry for such a dry answer but much of what men did and do really confused me until I came to understand how much of what they do goes directly to their gender identity.

As a woman when we have a relationship with a man we are having it with his relationship with all other men as to his identity.

How he feels about himself "as a man" and what he believes about himself "as a man among men" will directly affect you.

When children come, for you or any newlywed, this doesn't mean your focus changes from your husband to them. He still comes first and your children will benefit far more from this than any attempt to make them first.

Stop talking.

I'm serious, some females can't close their mind around this, that maybe 5% of your thoughts ever need to be verbalized to a man! and 4/5 of those thoughts should be logistics and food related!

Not saying never talk, but I can guarantee using your mouth for ...something else ... All things equal, will make the happier husband.

Make him the most important thing in your life.

When you regard how you are with him ask yourself "could someone else do it better." If the answer is yes then be better than that . Don't ever leave room for someone else to fill in your gaps because the day you start lacking is the day his mind will wander..

Don't get complacent and stop trying. Take care of him, take care of yourself, take care of your house, children or pets if you have them.

Marriage is absolutely work, but I think the best kind of work if you really put the effort in.