[wideawake]

I think you are being a little smug and conceited.

Fair enough.

The point I have been laboring to make is that I treated the decision of whom to marry as the most important decision I would ever have to make and I made my decision very carefully.

I remember people who used to say they, their spouse, or their kids would never do certain things only to see them eat their words.

Well, it's very hard to predict what your children will do before they're grown.

But a person's character is pretty much in place by the time they are 25.

There are millions of people out there who put themselves first and as long as the marriage suits their needs then they’re fine but when they have to put some work into it, they leave and there is usually a spouse left wondering what the heck happened and there is nothing they can do about it.

Absolutely. My wife and I have already been through some very hard times (external circumstances, not internal betrayals) which I will not detail here and we have come through it stronger than before.

I think you should count your blessings and continue to work on your marriage but realize that it is a gift from God and not really all your doing.

Well said.

[JamesP81]

But a person's character is pretty much in place by the time they are 25.

I'm not so sure about that. Or it may be better to say that your statement is true, but some aspects of that character simply cannot be known until put to the test.

Example: my dad had to bail out of a succeeding business venture because his two partners were doing some highly unethical things once their company started making some money. Both of these guys were straight laced and honest. At least until the money started flowing. It shocked and surprised people because everyone, and I mean everyone just knew that these guys would never do something like that.

[wardaddy]

But a person's character is pretty much in place by the time they are 25

Not me...I made huge mistakes in my 20s that I have worked to correct for 25 years.