Take care of the pennies, and the dollars will take care of themselves.

Do you know why one side is longer?

When I was young I had the benefit of knowing and spending time with Bernard Paul Schweich, or as I called him, Grandpa.

He was on old school farmer who had a quite wisdom about him that I hope to someday attain. He was fond of jokes. To this day I will never forget why one side is longer when geese fly in a "V" formation. And woven in and among all the jokes and anecdotes were little nuggets of wisdom that have stuck with me all these years.

One bit of advice that he gave me that recently took on a new meaning for me was the phrase, "Take care of the pennies, and the dollars will take care of themselves."

When I was 15 years old, all that this meant to me was keep track of your money; but I have come to learn that it reaches far deeper than may bank account.

Essentially, when you break it all down, what he was really telling me was that if I mind the details then I won't have to worry as much about the big stuff.

Take my marriage, as an example.

Marriages end all the time. Statistically, a marriage is now more likely to end in divorce than to survive 25 years. But how does that happen?

Do people get married thinking that it is only a short term deal? Probably not, or they would at least change the vows from 'till death do us part to something more like 'till something better comes along. And if the problem is not on the wedding day, when does it happen?

Does someone just wake up one day and say, "I am not in love. I was in love yesterday, but today I feel nothing." No, more likely than not it was a gradual slide from devotion to apathy.

Our wedding day.

With that in mind, how can I increase my chances of one day celebrating 50 years of marriage to Heather?

Details.

Instead of letting the two of us grow apart I need to take the time on a regular basis to catch up with my wife. Ask her how she is doing and really mean it. I need to do little things like vacuum the carpet when it's not my turn or bring home flowers or rent a movie she wanted to see just so I can sit on the couch and watch it with her.

These are all small things; details. But what is the likelihood that two people grow apart when so much effort is put into making sure even the little things are taken care of?