We all remember when we first fell in love with our partner. It was all good and nothing else mattered. All we thought about was each other, and neither of us could do anything wrong, in the eyes of the other. What happened?
Life happened, didn’t it? Romance relationships always begin at the center of our attention, but the more time we spend with each other, the more we find our attention drawn back to the demands of life, to the responsibilities and things we can no longer neglect. As we come back down to reality and deal with our every day stresses, we start to let our defenses down and reveal our true selves, and at the same time, begin to see the imperfections in our partner also. If we let these things consume us to the point of neglecting the relationship, we may soon find we have serious problems and perhaps even our marriage is in crisis!
It doesn’t necessarily have to come down to this situation. If you find yourself wishing you had those good feelings you once had before, that is telling you that it is time to begin taking action now. No, you can never go back to exactly the way it was before, because your relationship has matured over time and is much more developed now. That is a wonderful thing. You have weathered good times and bad times together, and now you are better prepared to take on the world together, a stronger and wiser team than you were in the beginning. You merely need to inject the romantic element back into your relationship to make it as complete and fulfilling as it can be.
So how do you keep the romance and love alive? It only takes a bit of effort, a little commitment and a willingness to put in a little extra energy. The payoff will be well worth it. If you think about it, I’m sure you realize what you need to do.
- Plan time together. Schedule it in if you have to, turn off the electronic devices and pawn the kids off on grandma – - this is your time!
- Be more spontaneous. Even in little ways – take a different route on everyday trips, stop at a shop or restaurant you never even noticed before, just because it’s there and you’re together, give him/her a little gift “just because…”
- Be more affectionate. Take a few extra moments for a kiss and a hug.
- Think of your partner first and often in everything you do – - you will be rewarded!
It doesn’t take a great deal of skill, talent or even brains to keep romance alive. All it really takes is a commitment to yourself to make a consistent effort, and an ounce of imagination. Don’t convince yourself that you need a complicated scheme like you see in the movies, it is a series of little things that demonstrates how much you care, and it will be very much appreciated. Ignore this advice at your own peril, the rewards of keeping the romance alive in your relationship are overwhelmingly worth it.