As I’m celebrating my 8th Wedding Annivesary today, I am reminded of one of the best pieces of advice I got on that day: don’t forget about your spouse after you start having kids.
That might be easier said than done, but no excuses. With 2 toddlers running around at home, our jobs, separate work hours, etc. we need to take a moment and MAKE time. Yes we look at our calendars and figure out when we will have OUR time together, when we can have family time, and yes even when we can have our “alone” time!
Not everything in life needs to be scheduled though. Taking the time to do something nice for the other person like doing the dishes when they weren’t expecting you to. That might sound like a small gesture, but it can go a long way because it really shows your spouse you took the time to think of them, do the chore, and wanted to see their smile.
Also I’ve learned to enjoy the stages of our relationship. We are never going to be the teenagers being all giddy over each other at a party, now we are the adults who grow deeper in love with each other after moving across country together and starting a family. I loved the scene from FRIENDS when Monica starts freaking out that her relationship with Chandler is not in the “can’t keep their hands off each other” phase anymore, and Chandler reminds her that was a great phase, but the fact they want to be together after that phase is a great thing.