The highs and lows of marriage

I like being married. I still get little thrills sometimes when someone refers to me as "Mrs. Markman" or when I get to introduce my husband to people. There is a security in being united to my husband who is not only the love of my life, but my best friend.

He's mine. I'm his. It's nice.

And marriage is good for you. The Economist recently took a look at the relationship between health and marriage, finding that the longer a couple stays married, the better health they tend to have overall. They even point out a "protective effect" to married peoples' health that kicks in once couples reach old age.

It's good that I have something to look forward to, since I am evidently going through the unbearable time of middle age. As this Pacific Standard article points out, being married during this time of my life means living "in socially isolated domestic units, each consumed with the nearly impossible task of balancing work and family, made bearable only by having a close friend in the trenches with us." The article points out that with so many pressures from work, older parents, children and social pressures, middle age is a difficult time and those of us who are lucky to be married to our best friends have a slightly more tolerable middle age.

I don't buy into that line of thinking. It's too depressing. Is there stress and daily pressures? Yes. Should there be more workplace equality and better work/life balance and more educational opportunities? Yes. But, I'd like to dwell on the positives: I have so many things to be thankful for in my life right now. And the big one is that I get to share it all with my husband.

What do you feel has been the hardest year of your marriage? Did middle age have anything to do with it? Share with me in the comments.