Yesterday, I put on my black suit & tie with yellow shirt & socks. It's the exact same get up I wore when I got married almost six months ago. I went in the suit with my wife to the National Hispanic Cultural Center, where we got married almost six months ago. We watched a lady and her beau get married after she planned our wedding at the same location, almost six months ago. Do you see where this is going?

It's been almost six months since my wedding, and I was back at the scene of the crime in the same suit with my wife.

I had worn pieces of my wedding suit for theatrical reasons since getting married. I wore the shoes in a movie I acted in this summer, auditioned in the cool yellow button down shirt, and sported the pants for a funeral dinner in a play called "August: Osage County." I've done a bit of theatre since getting married, but I hadn't worn the whole getup since May 1. It's funny, but it was like putting on a suit of armor. Like it was battle tested.

A few kernels of knowledge have come my way since the nuptials, so let me share:

1. The honeymoon period lasts about 100 days. That's how long it took for Maria and I to have our first awful fight. I'll keep the details to myself, but you never return to the blissful state of 'We got married!' You also know you're not quitting on each other either.

2. The wedding ring gets you out of a lot of nonsense. I've had both men and women flirt with me in the cab, and all I have to do is lift my left hand and show the band. Everyone gets it and stop their come-ons.

3. Even the kid knows. Donna Rose will point at my ring and say 'Mama?' and I agree. She doesn't quite remember the day (she wasn't two yet when it happened), but she's figured out the family thing pretty well.

4. Things are different, and things are the same. Everything you loved about your partner continues. Everything that was an issue continues. While having a baby changes everything, getting married does not. There is a different air about your relationship, but you still have to work to improve your life together with each other.

5. Always stay dedicated. You may think marriage means you can take it easy, but this is not the case. It reeks of effort all the time. The more you put into it, the more you get out of it. So I've been told.

Being married only six months means I still have a lot to learn. I don't pretend to be an expert. I would say now that I would recommend marriage to even less people. For Maria and I, our child has been the glue. Any time things get out of hand and we've had it with each other, Donna Rose reminds us why we're together and will stay together. The Catch-22 is that many of our difficulties come from having a two-year old daughter in the first place, but we wouldn't change our situation for anything.

This is why I would say marriage is good for people who want or already have kids. The family unit deserves some solid binding like marriage. For people who just want a solid commitment and no kids, I think there are other ways to show this than marriage. That's just me.

Of course, babies and kids don't really keep marriages together, and they don't tear them apart either. It all comes down to one thing: love. If you love your spouse physically, mentally & spiritually, everything works itself out eventually. If you're not willing or able to give the trinity of love to your partner, the marriage is doomed.

Six months down, the rest of my life to go. By the way, I still look pretty good in the suit.

Chris Jungle is not a marriage counselor.