When two people come together and their world’s entwine, things can be difficult to navigate. All relationships are complex, even if you’re the most easy going and understanding people in the world, there’s work to be done and effort to put in if you want things to stand the test of time. One issue that many couples can find when they’ve been together a while is that they lose their ‘spark’- busy lifestyles, children, career pressure and more can all mean that you stop making time for each other. You can end up becoming more like roommates or friends than two people in a romantic relationship, and this can cause couples to question if they should pull the plug and leave. As long as there’s a genuine desire from both parties to make things work, then it’s definitely something you can overcome. Here are some of the ways you can regain that spark, stay close and enable the relationship to stand the test of time.
Arrange Regular Dates
Just because you’re in a long term relationship doesn’t mean that you should stop dating your partner. Regular dates give you a chunk of time that you can devote to just the two of you, and can be really useful for keeping a relationship on the right track. It’s not always easy when you have kids and other commitments, but see if you can dedicate a few hours for a date, even once a month. You could go to a restaurant and have a nice meal, go to the cinema, go on a romantic riverside stroll- whatever it is you like to do.
Take a Dance Class Together
Dance classes are a fantastic way to spend time together, as well as improve your health and fitness. Partner based classes such as ballroom dance encourage cooperation, physical contact, eye contact and general close proximity- all things needed to reignite that spark. Partner dancing is a way to explore non-verbal chat and enable you both to become aware of subtle non-verbal communication which is another benefit for your relationship. So have a look online and see what dance classes are available locally, even if this is out of your comfort zone it’s so worth giving a go.
Eat Together
Eating together and sharing a meal is another way to connect and open up lines of communication. Instead of eating in front of the tv, make the effort to sit at the table. Perhaps you could lay the table and light a candle, put on some soft music and generally make the most of it. It doesn’t matter if the food you’re serving isn’t gourmet and is just a quick midweek meal. It’s all about having that time to connect, chat and have a shared experience. Simply checking in on each other, asking how your day went while eating can go a long way and stop you from becoming strangers. Often, it’s not the big gestures that matter but the little things. Pour your partner a drink, pull their chair out for them and tell them how great they look before you eat your meal. This costs nothing but can really warm their heart!
