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Romance and Children

Some feel that when the children arrive, the romance of marriage is over. Children take so much time and attention that it is hard to even find a spare moment to be together for anything. Romance seems out of the question. As the kids get older, the demands change and its becomes harder and harder to be romantic. Yet hope is not lost. Think of the kids as your little romantic army. When you are doing something romantic for your sweetie, plan a way for the kids to participate in at least part of it. An idea of how to do this is mentioned in Family Romance . Another idea is that if preparing breakfast in bed, let the kids do some of the cooking or write a "We love you" card. By including the kids you will emphasize the message you are trying to send to your sweetie. When you take all the effort of getting the kids to help it adds to the feeling of love and gratitude. Beside, the kids love it. If you have included the kids in a romantic gesture, why net send it to me?

Date Idea: Watching the Sunset

Spring is blooming, what a wonderful time of year. I should write an Ode to Spring but there are lots of them and those better than my attempts at poetry. I digress. Spring is a great time for you and your sweetie to watch the sunset together. The sun goes down late enough to get home from work and still have enough time to prepare. But it goes down early enough to not make a too late of an evening. There is still a hint of chill in the air to make snuggling very pleasant. Instructions for watching the sunset: * Find out when sunset is going to be. * Find a suitable location. Some ideas might be up on a hill with a good view to the west or over some body of water. Its not that important. * Bring a some treats like chocolate or cookies and milk. Something small and portable. Maybe a picnic dinner. * Bring a blanket to sit and snuggle on * Plan to arrive and have everything ready 15 minutes before the grand event. * Sit, eat, talk, snuggle and enjoy the show!

A Kiss A Day

I found this floating around the internet: Studies indicate that a man who kisses his wife good-bye when he leaves for work every morning averages a higher income than those who don't. Husbands who exercise the rituals of affection tend to be more painstaking, more stable, more methodical, thus, higher earners. Studies also show that men who kiss their wives before leaving in the morning live 5 years longer than those who don't. Isn't that amazing? It seems that just by kissing your wife you can make more money and live longer. However, I could not find the actual study that shows this relationship between kissing and money. As always, anything found on the internet must be checked . Even if it does not raise your income or make you live longer, kissing your sweetie in the morning is a great habit to get into. Since you are going to be apart from your sweetheart for most of the waking day, make sure that the thing that happens last before you part company for the day i

Keeping Special Things Special

For special occasions my sweetie gets breakfast in bed. This happens maybe twice a year for Valentine's and for her birthday. My sweetheart really likes the attention and the kids like to help in the surprise. Because it happens so rarely it is extra special. What would happen if she got breakfast in bed everyday? It would stop being special. It would become commonplace and maybe even boring. Soon she would come to expect it and feel disappointed when it didn't happen. You and your sweetie share some special events and occasions. Keep them special by keeping them rare. In that way you ensure that the special things stay specials.

Turn Off the Television and Step Away From the Remote

Have you ever met someone who dominated every conversation? Do you know a person who has the gift of being able to talk for extended periods of time without taking a breath? How do you feel after trying to hold a conversation with a person who keeps changing the subject? What about one who interrupts other people's conversations? It can be a very frustrating experience trying to talk to a person who doesn't listen and won't allow other people to converse without interjecting. Surprisingly, most of us invite such a one into our home everyday. Who is it? It is the television of course. The television talks non-stop all day long, is great at capturing one's attention and refuses to listen to anything anyone says to it. Many times my sweetie and I will be talking and one of us will be distracted by the television. At that point a couple of things happen. If it was the person speaking, they will lose their train of thought and become frustrated. If the listener i

Get Sweaty Regularly

The post on swimming mentions that exercise is good for a couple. This post will delve into that idea. When we exercise, we create endorphins in the brain. Endorphins have many benefits including: More constructive responses to disappointments and failures Decreased overall feelings of stress and tension Increased perceptions of acceptance by others Add these things up and what do you get? A great way for you and your sweetheart to spend some time together. The endorphins make you feel better about yourself. Then they will make you feel more accepted by your sweetie. Your sweetie, on the other hand will be feeling the same way. You will both feel better about yourself and your sweetheart. Wait, it gets better. The feelings of stress are diminished and your ability to deal with stress is improved. Also, your problem solving abilities are improved as well. Marriage and family are stressful. There are a lot of demands on our time and energies. By exercising regularly, you

Burma Shave Signs

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Have you ever heard of Burma Shave ? They sold shaving cream from the 20s to the 60s, which is not very interesting in itself. Lots of companies sell shaving cream. What made Burma Shave different was its advertising. Even today, 40 years after the last ad, people still know Burma Shave ads. A Burma Shave ad consisted of a 4 line verse like: IF YOUR PEACH KEEPS OUT OF REACH BETTER PRACTICE WHAT WE PREACH Each line of the verse was placed on a large poster and staked into the ground along the road. As a driver was driving down the road, they would read one line. Then a short while later, the next sign, then the next and finally the last. There was then a fifth sign with the Burma Shave logo. The first sign got your attention but then you had to wait for the whole verse. What has this got to do with romance? Anticipation. We all love a sense of anticipation. Create the anticipation with a small verse of your own. Write 4 lines of love and gratitude to your sweetie. Place eac

Sweet Deal: Free electronic Greeting Cards

You can send an electronic greeting card to your sweetheart for free. Just go to Hallmark and press the Free E-Cards link. Look for it in the second column under the picture. The column header is "OUR PRODUCTS". I've sent a couple of these to people and they are fun. They have all sorts of cards. Its a lot of fun to look at all cards. Also, the cards are personalizable so that you can add your own romantic message. Even though you have to enter both your email and your sweetie's email, I have not noticed any increase in spam. Hallmark seems to not be collecting these for mass-marketing purposes. The other slight drawback is that the card requires Flash to read, but that shouldn't be a problem unless your sweetheart uses an older browser.

Laugh a Little

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Share a laugh with your sweetie. Need a laugh to share? Here are some sources: * That guy at work who is always doing funny things * The humor section of a magazine. Think Reader's Digest, "Laughter is the best medicine * Recall a silly thing that happened on your honeymoon. * The kids are almost always good for a laugh. If you don't have any, there are other peoples

Love Poll: What did you and your sweetie do to celebrate Valentine's Day?

Among other things , I got my sweetie a dozen red roses and tickets to a play . My sweetheart gave me a large Mylar heart-shaped balloon that plays "You're the one that I want" when you tap it. The kids love it! What did you sweetheart do to make the day memorable? Did you do something special that was appreciated? If so, add a comment to this entry and share with everyone. If you would rather not share it so publicly, email it to me using the link on the right and I might be able to share it anonymously in a later posting.