The Little Things

When you’re married as long as I have been, there is always the possibility of a relationship going stale. It won’t usually be a sudden decline, but rather a much slower shift in the overall tone of the marriage, slowly blending the days (and even potentially the weeks) together and making your daily life with your spouse feel like a monotonous cycle.

However, there are ways to resolve such a relationship slump from every occurring in the first place. And despite what you may think, it doesn’t take a huge intervention or some amazing vacation getaway to get the spark back in your marriage. The answer is to do the little things.

By little things, I simply mean all of the small things that you can do to show your partner that you still care about them, and still are in love with them. Not only does a huge gesture become harder and harder to top as you get older, presumably after all of the many other similar gestures you’ve made in days prior, but at a certain point, such gestures start to come off as fake and forced. And nobody wants that.

So what can you do to show your partner some genuine love from time to time? The most genuine and sincere form of doing the small things is when you do such things for her without even asking. Things such as making him breakfast in the morning, especially when typically one of you has to ask what’s for breakfast before anything gets moving.

Or you can surprise him with a gift just for being awesome. And it doesn’t have to be expensive either – even a handwritten note or card, or a simple rose or box of chocolates can make an immediate impact on your love life.

Speaking of gifts, in my opinion there is no greater gift that simply telling your spouse that you love him or her. Even though many people know that their spouses love them, hearing it straight from their mouths is so much better and they will definitely appreciate the words. You obviously don’t want to force it though, so you need to make sure that you only say those three special words when you actually truly mean it, straight from the heart.

So if you are cuddling on the couch while watching a movie and you are in your partner’s arms, don’t be afraid to let your partner know being in that moment reminds you how much you love him or her. Or if simply waking up next to your partner in the morning reminds you of how much you love them, just let him or her know. As long as it is coming from the heart, your spouse will feel the love that you have for them.

There are plenty of other examples of doing the little things, from going on romantic dates from time to time, to even just helping your spouse with his chores every once in a while. The key though is to always be sincere and do something that shows them that you care. Because no matter how old you get, constantly being reminded on how you both still care for each other will always keep the flame going strong.