Ever have to make a big life decision? At some point we are all faced with life-defining decisions. In this episode, we take you inside the biggest decisions we have made across three decades together and show you why celebrating milestones is one of the most powerful tools for building long-lasting love. From cross-country moves and the decision to have more kids or not to eliminating debt and supporting our daughter through a life-changing medical diagnosis, we explore how shared decision-making strengthens trust, creates resilience, and deepens emotional connection. We also highlight the often-overlooked importance of celebrating small wins in your relationship, not just the major life events.

We share clear examples couples can learn from: how to evaluate major life choices, how aligned goals fuel momentum, and how celebration, big or small, reinforces the belief that you are building something meaningful together.

We start with a discussion around the real process behind our biggest joint decisions, including

• A cross-country move for a career opportunity
• Deciding if we wanted a third child and the emotional work behind the choice
• Leaning in to eliminate all debt, including our mortgage, and how it changed our family’s future

Next, we explore how celebrating milestones builds resilience and why couples must actively mark wins to reinforce connection. We highlight the impact of three big celebrations, including

• A 70s-themed 50th birthday celebration and the unexpected benefits of simply throwing a party
• Our 25th-anniversary trip to Scotland and the renewal that came from our adventure together
• Seeing our daughters graduate from college and launch into adult life, which felt like a huge win for us

We then share our most personal story to date when we discuss how resilience formed through earlier wins helped us navigate our daughter’s diagnosis with fascioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD).

💬 Key themes:

• Aligned decision-making builds trust. Major life choices become easier when couples evaluate trade-offs together using shared criteria, such as a long-term vision and emotional readiness.
• Celebration reinforces connection. Marking milestones creates positive emotional anchors that relationships can draw strength from in harder seasons.
• Resilience is built, not born. The work you do as a couple will equip you for the good times, which will prepare you for the storms we can’t predict.
• Financial clarity is relational clarity. Getting on the same financial page can eliminate stress and open doors for meaningful shared experiences.
• Small wins matter. Relationship growth often happens in daily moments of courage, communication, and new habits.

🎧 Listen if you are…

• Someone navigating major life decisions such as career moves, finances, or family planning, and want real examples of how couples make those choices together.
• Looking for practical ways to build resilience and strengthen your relationship before tough seasons arrive.
• Wanting to understand how celebrating milestones (big and small) can transform the emotional health of a long-term partnership.

Chapters

00:00 – Episode teaser

00:29 – Welcome and introduction

02:19 – Big Decision #1 – Moving cross-country for a career opportunity

06:03 – Big Decision #2 – To have another child or not

13:04 – Big Decision #3 – To fully get out of debt, and to live a debt-free life

16:48 – Inked Moments: Throwing Michael’s 50th birthday party

20:21 – Importance of celebrating milestones

23:25 – Big Milestone #1 – 25th Anniversary trip to Scotland

26:22 – Big Milestone #2 – Our children graduating from college

28:33 – Big Milestone #3 – A wedding celebration

31:02 – Story of resilience – Alexa’s diagnosis

32:40 – Impact of Alexa’s diagnosis on our relationship

38:55 – Pen to Paper: Celebrate the small milestones

45:12 – Closing thoughts

To learn more about facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) visit https://www.fshdsociety.org/

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