by Linda Braymiller

Created on: October 04, 2008   Last Updated: May 15, 2010

HOW TO PUT THAT SPARK BACK INTO YOUR MARRIAGE

As I gazed at my groom standing at the altar, we vowed to keep those promises so many before us have made. But I also knew there were some things I would have to change about Charles. First he would have to stop regarding fruit and vegetables as something that you placed on the mantle during the holidays. Next gravy was not a cocktail you sipped during dinner.

Charles and I had many things in common and we shared them in our relationship as husband and wife. We both loved going to parties, we found great exhilaration in riding motorcycles together, we enjoyed watching old movies, we could sit and talk for hours about anything, and he considered me to be the best looking brunette in a pair of blue jeans.

On the other end of the spectrum we both loathed waiting in grocery store lines, hated balancing the checkbook, disliked going to the dentist, and became highly incensed at people who talked on their cell phones during a movie at the theatre.

Charles and I had a strong marriage but as the years passed by something happened. Between wearing flannel pajamas to bed, coaching soccer, feeding the baby in the middle of the night, and leading Brownie meetings, it seemed our cell phones communicated more than we did. Greeting each other as we passed through the doorway on our way to soccer practice or to a Brownie meeting was normal. Trying to carry on a conversation while getting the children to bed or helping with homework was part of our regular routine. By the time the children were settled in for the night Charles collapsed in front of the television while I finished folding a basket of clothes and packing lunches for the next day before heading upstairs to collapse into bed.

So what was missing to this wonderful relationship that held such passion that sparks ignited between the two of us when we'd pass one another in the hallway or gaze into each other's eyes? It was spontaneous romance! The spontaneous romance slowly drifted away with all the responsibilities that had once been part of our lives. It was time to rekindle that romance once again and with that romance rekindled, the communication lines would follow close behind!

Marching down the stairs and positioning myself next to Charles on the sofa, I took the remote and quickly turned off the television. Then I turned to Charles and announced it was time to get our romance and communication lines open and back on track starting right now! The cell phones were

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>