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China Elevator Stories

“You Have To Stay Strong And Hold On To Your Marriage”

A Chinese woman gives me marriage advice.

30/11/2013

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Ruth Silbermayr

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My husband and I are invited to dinner by a couple in their 40s. Their family friends, a few other couples around the same age, are also invited.

We have dinner at a restaurant, and they all congratulate us on having gotten married.

When we’re in the car with our two hosts, we watch them bicker.

It’s nothing too serious, at least not on the surface. The host complains that his wife always makes him come home for dinner, and the wife complains that he doesn’t treat her well. He then tells her he has never treated anyone better.

When we get out of the car, the host’s wife tells me: “You have to stay strong and hold on to your marriage. You just got married, so right now everything is really great. But in 10 or 20 years’ time, things might be completely different. Remember what I just told you when that time comes.”

Has anyone ever given you marriage advice?

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