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When I recently met former first lady Rosalynn Carter, who has been married to Jimmy Carter for 63 years. I couldn't resist asking how they made such a perfect union.
我最近见到前第一夫人罗莎琳•卡特，她已经嫁给吉米.卡特63年了。我忍不住问她，为什么婚姻能如此美满。
Mrs. Carter replied that she and her husband had gone through two periods that were tough. 'First, well, let me just say: Don't ever write a book with your husband,' she said.
罗莎琳回答，她和丈夫也经历过两段煎熬的时期。“这么说吧，首先要记住一点：千万不要跟自己的丈夫合作写一本书，”她说道。
She went on to explain that the period after she and Mr. Carter left the White House and returned to their hometown of Plains, Ga., also put a strain on their relationship. Her husband felt adrift after failing to win re-election, she said. He would often interrupt her while she was at work in her home office, asking her to have a cup of coffee with him and chat.
罗莎琳解释说，她和吉米•卡特离开白宫回到佐治亚州Plains的家乡后，两人的关系一度紧张。吉米•卡特没能再度当选总统，因此感到无所事事，经常到罗莎琳在家办公的房间来打搅她工作，让她跟他一起聊天喝咖啡。
'We learned that it was important to our marriage for each of us to always have our own work, our own projects,' said Mrs. Carter, 82.
“我们发现，要想维持好婚姻关系，必须双方都各有工作去做，有项目要去完成，”现年82岁的罗莎琳说道。
I asked my parents, who just celebrated their 46th wedding anniversary, why their marriage lasted so long. My dad said he had no idea. 'Your mother did all the hard work,' he admitted. Mom agreed, and divulged her marital secret: 'forgiveness.'
我父母最近刚刚庆祝了46周年的结婚纪念日，我问他们为什么婚姻能持续这么长时间。我爸爸说，他也不知道，但他承认：“全靠你妈妈维持得好。”我妈妈对此深表同意，并说出了她维系婚姻的成功秘诀：“宽容。”
Happily married people believe they married their soul mates, and for good reason. Even marrying the right person gets you only part way. Ask the couples themselves, and they'll likely credit some combination of hard work and sheer blind luck. No one says that every day, or even every year, was rosy. And there are plenty of long marriages that are unhappy. But there are some strategies that happily married couples say work:
婚姻幸福的人相信，他们找到了自己的灵魂伴侣，而且他们有充分的理由在一起。不过，即使找对了人，革命也尚未成功。问问这些快乐的夫妻，他们告诉你成功的婚姻还需要双方的努力和一点点运气。没人会说婚姻的每一天、甚至每一年都像玫瑰一样美好。有不少婚姻虽然长久，但并不快乐。不过，婚姻幸福的夫妻还是给出了一些成功的秘诀。
