Marriage surpasses every short-lived romantic dalliance and short term relationships. The progression from being single to being married is more than a change in status, it is mentally a giant leap with a steep learning curve.

Ideally, a relationship flourishes when both partners feel adequate and rely on each other for support. Your expectations about the other's ability to meet your needs should be realistic. Couples that set the expectations too high in the early years run the risk of succumbing to the disenchantment that may arise from the erosion of their ideal. Such couples are too far removed from the realities of their emotions and capabilities and fail to maintain the intensity of the marriage too soon. It starts waning as it becomes less fulfilling when the magical inflamed passion starts wearing off. The worst happens when there is a total loss of love and affection.

Insight

The initial years of marriage can set the expectations for later years. Very often the way the initial years, that is, the first four to five years of marriage will largely determine the quality of married life for the years to come. In fact, the way it pans out will set the tone for the earliest stages of a promising future or distress. The initial years of marriage are productive years, aiding the development of the feeling of togetherness, confidence and faith in one's spouse.

Adjustment

In the initial years, there's a lot of adjusting to do, even when you are married to someone you truly love and someone you think you know in and out and are really compatible. Hence creating an environment where both partners become suitably equipped and mentally prepared to deal with issues is important.

Let's face it, not everyone has the perfect partner always. Togetherness after marriage also implies a fair share of adjustments and compromises from both partner's ends. Each partner in a marital relationship has to learn to love, build trust and understanding, accept each other's differences, make wholehearted attempts to understand the other person and adjust with them likewise and respect his/her spouse for who they are.

For these initial years to blossom onto a lasting relationship fresh with the glow of romance, partners should give space to each other. Once the couple knows what they can do to preserve the chemistry, they also learn how to keep it from turning into the daily grind, nurturing it with the sweet personal touches to keep it burning bright with love, romance and lasting commitment.

It is the initial years in a marriage can actually help construct the guiding elements in the relationship of marriage that will cause your marriage to mature and flourish. This solid foundation can withstand any adversity and offer the stability and fulfillment in what sometimes proves to be a rough cruise.

So invest in the early years to stay afloat later when financial worries, work stress, outside friendships and family affairs may work in unison to torment you!