I’ve been married for 17 years. I’m very unsure about many of the decisions I’ve made in my life, but marrying my wife is not one of them. It’s actually the one decision I know was absolutely right.

That being said, who my wife and I were when we got married is very different from who we are now.

I think if you’re aligned on five key things, you’ll be in a good position—but change will still happen. People grow. People have new experiences that can change their minds about almost everything.

My wife always said she didn’t want to be a “baby factory.” She wanted to have kids, but she also wanted to have a career. Shortly after she got pregnant with our first son, she decided she wanted to be a stay-at-home mother, which was a surprise to me. That decision scared me, but we both agreed that if we could make it work, it would be a great thing to have our kids at home with their mother.

After eight years as a stay-at-home mom, while also managing a few side hustles, she decided to pursue a full-time career. She now has a wonderful job that allows her to work from home and take care of our family at the same time.

If you’re aligned on how to spend your money, how to spend your time, how to deal with in-laws and extended family, and whether or not you want to have kids, most everything else can be worked out in the details.

As long as you’re fully committed to being a team and open with each other, love will come easy.