marriage prep

I am getting married this fall. My fiance and I are taking marriage prep classes with our parish priest. Last week we talked about the ways we communicate and solve problems. This has been an issue for us because we come from families who handle problems in two very different ways. My family gives each other the silent treatment and his family argues about everything. Taking these two communication styles and putting them together is a train wreck! I shut down and don't talk while he tries to argue his way into my silence.

Understanding how we communicate now relates to our professional development as parents because we have a responsibility to learn how to communicate effectively so that we can build a strong family. If we ignore our communication weakness now, we're only making it harder to change later.

Changing my method of communication is challenging for me. I have to learn how to open up and communicate my thoughts instead of giving my fiance the silent treatment. It's easy thinking about changing the way I communicate as I'm sitting here blogging, but in the moment of arguing when I'm really angry, every fiber of my body does not want to talk. I know that in those moments choosing to talk is what will bring about a positive change in our communication.