If you ask anyone married more than 10 years, they will tell you that it’s not easy.  Couples start to take advantage of each other, focus more of their attention on their children and forget to make time for each other.

A Short Guide to a Happy Marriage by Sharon Gilchrest O’Neill,  is a very short book, only 61 pages, and at least half of the pages are black and white photos that are visually appealing. Photos range from a couple kissing on the beach during the sunset to two pieces of a heart shaped chocolate.

The book is more like a poem than a self-help book.  It reads like poetry, but provides some helpful tips on keeping your marriage loving.

Ms. O’Neill,  is a true believer in the institution of marriage, especially having been a family and marriage counselor for many years.  She believes that marriage is a creative work of art and shouldn’t be thought of as tedious or something hard to work towards.

She tries to instill that when a couple is married, they are on the same team.  They should do things together and work together toward the same goal.

A couple of things she suggests:
1.    Go to bed together
2.    Don’t invest in pajamas invest in ceiling fans
3.    Reach out to each other during the work day
4.    Spend special alone time during the week and weekends
5.    Find a hobby to share together
6.    Don’t separate work and home life
7.    Talk as much as possible
8.    Touch each other at least once a day with a hug or a kiss or a gentle stroke
9.    Be loving to each other
10.   Be flexible

She offers more advice but not to spoil anything more, I won’t give it up.  A Short Guide to a Happy Marriage is a short book.  As one finishes the book, it’s hard not to ask yourself, “Is that all there is?  Is it that simple to keep a marriage strong?”

I’m not sure but what I do know is, A Short Guide to a Happy Marriage is a poetic, well-written book that includes beautiful, motivating photos that make you smile.

Last year’s Entrepreneurs’ Organization’s (EO) Nerve Conference was held in Atlantic City.  This year, it was held in Washington, D.C. Last year, I stayed in Atlantic City for the weekend.  This year, I stayed in Washington for a day.

I decided to work from HJMT’s city office on Thursday.  I figured since I had to go to JFK Airport,  it made sense for me to work out of the city office.  At around 4 pm, I was packing up to get ready and I sent Kristie Galvani, Senior VP from HJMT, an instant message asking her what time she thought I should leave.

“What time is your flight,” she wrote.

“It’s at 5:40 pm,” I wrote.

“You betta go… ” she wrote and with that I noticed the time, packed up my backpack and headed out of my building onto the street to 55th and 3rd, where I kept my car.  As I was walking down the street, I kept thinking I would miss the plane.

I got into my car and drove down Second Avenue to 34th Street. I needed to go through the tunnel to get to Queens.  Everything was backed up.  It was bumper to bumper traffic.  I started to get nervous but didn’t panic.

I drove at a snails pace through the tunnel.  I went through the toll booth and continued at 3 miles an hour on the Long Island Expressway (495).  Time was ticking and I was starting to get nervous.

I got to the intersection of the Grand Central Parkway and the Van Wick.  It was 5 pm.  I was now starting really panicking but kept driving.

I got to the airport at 5:25.  I parked in short term parking and ran with my heavy backpack, my big rolling suitcase and my bag.  I got to the security guard at check in and begged her to cut the line because my plane was leaving in a few minutes.  She let me. I ran to the gate and was the last one on the plane.  It was 5:38 pm.

Once I was in Washington (first I flew to Dulles which is an hour away from Washington), I dropped off my bags at the hotel and joined the EO cocktail party.  It was great seeing my fellow chapter members.  It was also amazing to see people I met last year at this conference.  I felt so comfortable.

After hours was held at a bar called Hudsons, which was down the block from the Ritz Carlton, where we all stayed.  An hour later, I said my goodbyes and headed back to the room.  I was totally exhausted!

The next day, I woke up to find that I couldn’t find my iPod, which meant that I couldn’t go to the gym.  I was really upset.  (I got all dressed up with no place to go…)  So, I took a shower, got dressed for the conference and joined the breakfast downstairs in the ballroom.  After breakfast, we had Ted Leonsis speak about the business of happiness.

Following that, I saw Matthew Weiss give a presentation on SEO’s.  He was terrific!  I even got a free Seth Godin book out of it!  Thanks Matt!

Lunch was next, followed by Jeff Skiles, who was the co-pilot of the plane that landed in the Hudson River.   It was fascinating to hear about the occurrences of the days leading up to and after the crash.

I ended the one day conference with Greg Lederman who spoke about systems and customer service.   His presentation was lively and kept my attention for the 90 minutes, which says a lot about him as a speaker.

After his presentation, I hustled to the bellhop to get my luggage and take a cab back to Dulles. I had two hours to kill before my flight boarded, so I got a quick bite to eat and headed over to the gate.  I sat myself down on the floor by the gate and plugged my computer in.

I heard my name.  I looked up and there was Jordan Finger, a fellow member of the EONY Board.  I was so glad he was there because our plane was delayed a few hours and it was nice to connect with him and wait for the plane at the same time.

At 11:30 pm the plane landed back in JFK.  I was exhausted.  I couldn’t remember where I parked.  Did I park in short term? Yes.  What floor? Mmmm.. Then I remembered, spot 202, which is the area code for Washington, DC. Interesting how things turn out…

Kristie Galvani, Lisa Gordon (who was in town for a few days working from the Long Island office) and I left the office the other day to go home.  As we were leaving the office, the fire alarm went off…again.

(The fire alarms in our building are very sensitive and go off all the time.)

We looked at each in disbelief because Kristie had her baby’s carriage with her and since the alarm was going off, we could not use the elevators.  How was she getting this baby carriage down to the first floor (HJMT is on the third floor).

So the three of us ran to the stairs.  We put our computers and bags into the stroller. I stepped in front of it and Kristie was behind. Lisa watched to make sure no one was in the way.

As we made our way down the stairs two guys from the second floor started walking behind us.  Lisa overheard them say, “Is there a baby in there?”

Trying to make light of the situation and make Kristie and me laugh, she says loudly, “oh go slow girls, careful with the baby.”

Kristie and I were concentrating so hard not to fall down the stairs we weren’t even paying attention.

When we made it to the third floor, the guys came around us, looked at the carriage, saw there was no baby, just our computers and stared.  Then started to laugh.  Kristie and I were confused so Lisa filled us in. After that, all of us were laughing.

Walking to our cars we starting thinking, did these guys really think we would do that to a baby?  Who would ever do that?

Guess people are a little nuts and you never know…

PS – when we got to the first floor, the alarm went off AGAIN!

———————

Lori Alexy is the Vice President of Client Services at HJMT.  You can reach her by calling 516-997-1950 or email her at lori@hjmt.com.

Related articles by Zemanta

• A New Addition at HJMT… (hilarytopper.com)
• Starting off 2010… by Kristie Galvani (hilarytopper.com)
• At HJMT We Give Back… (hilarytopper.com)