I attended the 2007 Smart Marriages Conference in Denver, CO and it was incredible! There were over 2,500 people in attendance and most of us were therapists and marriage educators. There is hope for marriage!!! It was very enlightening especially on the resources available for couples who want to stay together. Even couples who'd like to get the 'want to' feeling to stay together, can get help on how to achieve it.
Interesting statistic for all folks skeptical of marriage, 90% of Americans will get married at least once in their lifetime! So if we choose a mate, its a good idea to attend some relationship coaching/education classes and get a one-up on maintaining our relationships. I actually provide some educational info for couples at www.earlyfamilyyears.org
I just had to rant and rave about Smart Marriages (www.smartmarriages.com), those folks are so marriage friendly and didn't bash other community groups either. It was all out effort to strengthen families through strengthening relationships. I've been married for 7 years now, with a toddler, in graduate school, doing marriage education, church counseling and baby tshirts. Any wonder, I needed the conference to recharge my own batteries!
