“Nearly ten years!” that’s the thought that occurred to me as I was sitting in a meeting last week. Ten years ago, in 2002, four of us (three have since moved from the area) put our heads together and dreamed about what it might be like if we could encourage a more “marriage friendly” culture in our community. We wondered if community leaders in business, education, health care, the faith-community and other venues were aware of the difference healthy marriage made in the lives of children, adults and the community as a whole. We speculated about how relationship education might help couples form and maintain a safe, stable and happy home, thereby improving outcomes for children. We questioned if there were any coordinated efforts in our area to make people aware of existing resources. We decided to have a series of seven focus groups to find out.

Last week’s “Toilet Tutorial” apparently struck a chord as readership spiked and I received an unusual number of emails and personal contacts regarding the post, in addition to the comments in our Disqus section. Apparently many of you thought there were quite a few similarities between marriage and toilets. I appreciate all the feedback, which helps me to wrap up the tutorial with a few specific strategies for managing rough patches in couple relationship.