Today is September 15, 2004.
The first documented Marriage Fidelity Day.
This effort was initiated by Penny Tupy, Save Your Marriage Central (SYMC) Founder, Director and Coach.
Save Your Marriage Central Website We've been successful this year in getting a number of states to sign proclamations for Marriage Fidelity Day. Next year it will be even bigger and better.
But those are the logistics. Those are the background pieces of this effort.
There is more to it, however, than a mere declaration or proclamation. There is more to it than the endless hours of efforts by numerous SYMC volunteers to make this a reality. There is more to it than signatures on paper and articles in the media.
The more is about us - you, me, each and every individual in this country - in this world -
who is married...
who is suffering the agony of infidelity...
who has been the unfaithful partner...
who has been the betrayed spouse...
who has survived infidelity...
who hasn't survived infidelity...
who is in recovery...
whose marriage failed...
It is about each and every one of us who is reading here today. It is about our strength and determination to make marriage work, and to end the fantasy that an affair is a love story or about finding one's soul mate.
We are here because we believe in marriage. Whether we are in a strong, recovered relationship now, or whether our marriage is in the process of ending, or whether our marriage ended...we are here because we believe.
And that belief has motivated us to be here and do the hard work. The hard work might be on recovery efforts - doing something that feels so uncomfortable that we can barely handle it. The hard work might be in volunteering here and giving more of our time than we thought we had.
Let's each take a moment today and pause and think about our relationships. Let's be thankful for what we have. Let's be hopeful for the future. Let's not be afraid to do the hard work for recovery. Let's help each other to find the strength we need. Let's never let a day go by without letting our partner know how important they are to us.
Let's let everyday be Marriage Fidelity Day, but let us celebrate it annually on September 15th.
