But one piece of advice really stood out. An elderly man in our church whose wife had died a few years before, wrote us in his card, "Say I love you every day, and thank each other every day for the little things." He had been married over 50 years to his wife, so I put a lot of stock in what he suggested. At first, I had to try pretty hard to remember to thank Robi for the little things like taking out the trash, or taking the dogs out. But pretty soon, it became a normal part of our relationship, us both thanking one another regularly for little things. And I could feel how those little expressions of gratitude made me feel closer to Robi.
Today, I stumbled across an article about how gratitude helps maintain romantic relationships. The author wrote that,
"even everyday gratitude serves an important relationship maintenance mechanism in close relationships, acting as a booster shot to the relationship."
Seems that the old man's advice really was good!
What are you thankful for about your partner right now? For me, I'm thankful that my husband let me sleep in a bit this morning! So sweet!
I am grateful for your fathers loyal devotion to me. Though we are so far apart many times, many days, many weeks, he answers my calls by saying "hello beautiful" and it instantly makes me smile. I love that guy!
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