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A Plea For Real Men
Photo courtesy of Guillaume de Germain We know this is a blog for couples. But GUYS, I (Mark) need to talk to you for a bit. I want to talk you about being a Real Man. I get frustrated when I hear that a real man doesn’t show his feelings or make himself vulnerable, like it is a sign of weakness.
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Overcoming Apathy in our Marriage
Courtesy of Cottonbro on Pexels Cloudy fall days, work stress, our daughter moving 4 states away… daily political calls, longing to return to normal life… Our souls have felt weary lately. We’ve felt lazy towards our relationship, too: choosing not to resolve little issues when they arise, being less affectionate, watching more TV, and even falling asleep without saying good night. Basically, we’ve been apathetic about life and about our marriage.
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Got Stress?
Photo above courtesy of Matteo Vistocco on Unsplash While writing a check for a major expense recently, Mel said, “You seem agitated.” to which Mark replied, “This is a lot of money!” Mel’s light-hearted response was, “They’re only numbers.” Mark paused, and then laughed, “Yet another example of how we are completely opposite.” And we smiled at each other.
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How’s the View From Over There?
So far this year has provided lots of topics for discussion. As we talk about all sorts of issues in our world today, we recognize how opposite we can be. Man, do we approach issues differently!
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Quarantine Romance
From Free-Photos on Pixabay We have been under a stay-at-home order for 5 weeks now due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Just being in the same house together doesn’t ensure a close, intimate relationship though; we must decide to take actions that bring us together. We decided to view this mandate to stay at home as an opportunity to find new everyday ways to romance each other.
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Parenting as a Team
Photo by John Mark-Smith Becoming parents is such an amazing blessing. From the moment we first hold our newborn child, our world is changed. Whether navigating the terrible two’s or adjusting to parenting young adults, we learned something that is crucial about parenting – we are much stronger together than we are as individuals.
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Taking Your Marriage on Vacation
Photo by Wilson Sánchez Nine years into marriage, we were planning to leave town to visit family after Mark worked a half day. Mel packed up the kids and the car, and Mark just needed to throw in his suitcase. Mark was delayed several hours at work. By the time we met up, we were both irritated and highly stressed and just
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Phones at the Dinner Table
While out to dinner recently we had a misunderstanding near the end of the meal. I (Mel) was looking up information on my phone and showing it to Mark. He was clearly disinterested, and I felt puzzled.
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Unmet Needs
We’ve been extra busy lately – on weekends and weekdays alike. With everything that we committed to, there just hasn’t been much time for fun or relaxation.
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In Sickness and In Health
I (Mel) used to feel irritated and isolated when Mark was sick, as he’d clam up and shut down. In addition to the daily care of our kids, pets, and household, it seemed to me that I had an additional child to care for. I felt burdened by the extra work of caring for Mark, and I wore myself down caring for everyone else. Yet, when I was sick, I was expected to continue in my usual role and take care of myself. How fair was that?
