Often as we get busier, more successful, or more settled into our relationships, we inadvertently take our spouses for granted. There are a lot of things that lead to this situation but you can totally be intentional about honoring and showing appreciation for your spouse on National Spouses Day.
My philosophy is that every day should be taken as an opportunity to show your significant other just how much you appreciate them. If life has gotten in the way of that, no worries! There is no better time than the present to show them how much you care.
7 Ways to celebrate and appreciate Your Spouse
Be Kind
This may seem obvious, but kindness is often a virtue put on the back burner to daily preoccupation. We can sometimes fall into the trap of thinking that we no longer need to show kindness to our spouse because we’re married. We’ve been as nice as we need to be to get the ring and now they should just know how we feel. Wrong. After marriage, you still have to be kind to each other. Speaking a word of kindness will go a long way to bringing joy into your marriage and keeping it there.
But why stop at a single day? Try the 30 Days of Kindness Challenge and watch your relationship move to the next level of love and appreciation.
Plan a Spontaneous Date
You don’t have to have all of the plans together to enjoy quality time together. The point of Spouse Appreciation Day is to spend time with each other. To take a moment to {re}connect. To be completely transparent, we often slack on this. We love each other dearly but get so busy that we usually only have enough energy at the end of the day to fall into chairs next to each other…completely exhausted. Is there a movie that you’ve been itching to see? A restaurant that you’ve hoped to get to try one day? GO. Drop the kids off or hire a babysitter. Drive and see where you end up. Plan a picnic in the living room. Make a fire and chat.
Re-evaluate Your Relationship
Wait, what?
No matter how long you’ve been together, things change. Oftentimes, when we’re not in-tune with each other and neglecting to spend time together, we’re oblivious to those changes. My husband and I are not the same people we were when we married in 2011. In another decade, we’ll be different people yet again.
Growth is a part of a healthy marriage. We do a marriage evaluation at least once a year to check in and see if there are any issues that have arisen within our relationship, what our current and future priorities and goals are, and how we want to move forward. Too many times, couples are looking at life and priorities a little differently but they fail to tell each other. Having a breakdown in communication can lead to isolation and indifference and can directly cause you to no longer appreciate each other.
Want another way to re-evaluate your relationship? Join us for our 2019 Couples Vision Board party! We’ll be working together to help you figure out where you’re going individually and collectively, and give you tools to help you reach your goals.
Other easy ways to Show Appreciation
They say that the little things can make the biggest impact. Here are some small actions that will show appreciation of your spouse in a big way when you’re spending time together:
- Say please and thank you. Be sincere. Even if the money comes out of a joint account, express your gratitude for a meal or date.
- Give a hug. Hold on a little longer than you might normally do. Same goes for smooching!
- Share your meal. As much as it drives him nuts when I say I’m not hungry and then eat off his plate, this small act of kindness lets me know how much he loves me.
- Scoot over and make some room for them on the couch. Let them pick the movie or control the remote.
Enjoy National Spouses Day…then keep the love and appreciation going! Check out this post on why Spouse Appreciation should be every day.
Do you spend quality time with your spouse on a regular basis? Think you can do better? Let me know in the comments below!
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