Back when I was single (between husbands), I danced twice a week at The Yellow Rose Saloon. Men who met the women of their dreams there had no problem coming up with an idea for proposing. Wait for her favorite band and show up with a ring and a couple dozen yellow roses, and you could get down on one knee on stage. When they closed, and we all moved over to the Colorado Cafe, with a DJ and lots...
Are you going through hard times? How do you know? Perhaps your spouse lost a job. You two have less money. You have no way to predict when he or she will work again. Almost certainly, you would approach the job hunt differently. Is this tough times? Or is it exactly what you hoped for when the two of you were working long hours, the break that lets you spend more time together or change up the...
When one of you always longs to climb to the top of that rock formation while the other prefers to head to that movie theater with the reclining seats instead, it’s easy to make the mistake of going your separate ways. And it’s not such a bad idea, unless it breaks the bond between you. Here are some ideas for keeping that bond strong. Find friends who enjoy what you do but pose no...
Date night is all about the two of you, interacting with each other over things other than your bills, your kids, your home, or your work. If you can’t leave your sleeping kids or don’t feel like dealing with bad weather, there is a new game you might enjoy at home. We learned about it from friends who have literally worn the paint off three sets of tiles already, playing together and...
When marriages are running along smoothly, income and assets are usually shared generously, regardless of who owns them on paper. In most states, the two of you have a good deal of say over who owns them on paper. Only nine states in the US are community property states, where both partners share equally in each others’ incomes and new assets. (The nine are AZ, CA, ID, LA, NV, NM, TX, WA...
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.
