VillageQ Community: 15 Wedding Anniversaries Later

Interviewing Roger was a bit nerve racking— I mean, the man is funny. Have you seen his video Middle-Aged Gay Lip Syncs Meghan Trainor? I had that stuck in my head for a week, and it made me want to laugh and smile as opposed to want to shoot myself. That said, what I got was just a really nice guy, with a good sense of humor and keen insight on how to keep the love alive.

To participate in our series, please email clare@villageq.com for more information. 

where to purchase disulfiram Name: Roger Ian Rosen

Photo Credit: rogeronimo.com

http://dnasab.net/dnasab/ Age: 42

http://peterabbott.co.uk/wp-cron.php?doing_wp_cron=1640835293.9182860851287841796875 Hometown: Gaithersburg, Maryland

http://thusspeaksaditi.com/ Social media handles: FB page: rogeronimo.com   Twitter: @rogeronimo_com  Website: rogeronimo.com you can try here

Number and ages of kids: 3 step-kids. The oldest is 29 and the twins are 26.

Number (and type) of pets: 2 dogs. 1 Corgi and 1 Pittbull

Day job: 2 day jobs. Interim Assistant Director of the ADP Center for Learning Technologies at Montclair State University. Also work at Trader Joe’s in Millburn, NJ.

Relationship status: Married!

Favorite children’s book: Charlotte’s Web and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I know…that’s 2 books. But I couldn’t pick just one.

Favorite flavor of ice cream: Yes.

How did you create your family?

I didn’t know I was creating my family when I met my husband, so answering how I did it seems disingenuous. As if it were a plan. It wasn’t. I met him. I fell in love with him. We moved in together. I continued to fall in love with him. Nearly seventeen years and fifteen wedding anniversaries later, I’m still falling in love with him.That’s how I created my family ~ I fell.

How do you keep the love alive?

I keep love the alive by acknowledging that at any moment the love could be not alive. Falling out of love is easier than staying in love. In order to prevent that, every day I strive to be a better husband to my husband and every day I aim to forgive him his flaws. The act of staying in love is constant, deliberate work. It’s a choice.

What did your parents do well that you want to emulate? What mistakes did they make that you hope to never repeat?

As I get older, and farther into my own marriage, I’ve realized that the thing I want to emulate most is their relationship. It’s the greatest gift they gave me; the greatest lesson they taught me. Not because their marriage is perfect, but because it is imperfect. It is imperfect, and they work on it. They taught me that there is no such thing as perfect. They taught me that marriage is hard, but worth the work. Love is worth the work. They’ll be hitting their 50th anniversary this June, and they are still best friends. That’s worth emulating!

What mistakes did they make?

That feels like a conversation more appropriate for a doctor with a couch and the shameless ability to charge $250 for an hour that’s not even an hour.

Describe your favorite family moment.

I can’t nail it down to one moment, but I can nail it down to one sound: laughter. My favorite family moments are filled with laughter. Whether we’re with my family or Rick’s family ~ if we’re together and we’re laughing, that’s my favorite moment.