You can’t always go out for pizza and a movie, can you? Here are two more ideas for spending time together as a married couple. Miss the cool fall weather from where you grew up? Pack some soup, some bread, and some coffee or hot cider and head for your nearest ice skating rink. Don’t forget your mittens. Get some exercise on skates, then open your cool-weather feast at a table or on...
When ecstatic people tell you they have found their soul mate, you may well wonder if you could do better than the person you fell in love with. I believe the answer is no. The difference between a soul mate and another beloved is a feeling of great similarity and agreement, a meshing of values, interests, and approaches to life. But people are people. Interests change, values change, approaches...
During an unhappy stretch in a marriage or life partnership, you may wonder if you chose the wrong person. You Probably Chose the Wrong Person If: Your mate is vicious His or her morals require that you ignore your own He or she cannot find the strength to fight or seek treatment for long-lasting or life-threatening depression, mania, addiction, hallucinations, or other physical or mental...
Laughter is such a great defense against depression and self-pity. My husband laughs a lot: big, deep, belly laughs at TV shows, jokes on the internet, unexpected sights, or a good pun. I once watched him slide off a sofa onto the floor involuntarily while a friend kept adding to an invented story about a flaming cow, unable to catch his breath or unbend himself because he was laughing so hard. I...
When the two of you draw farther apart each week or the marriage feels more unfair every day, you can change your experience of it. Here are three quick ways to improve your marriage. Do less of whatever makes you angry. If it’s something you can’t get out of, like filing taxes or changing diapers, do less of something else you don’t enjoy, like washing dishes. (Paper plates...
I am a widow who got it right the second time. I have been sharing here since February 14, 2006 what I learned from that experience and from positive psychology, marriage research, and my training as a marriage educator.
