The Couples Post

Support for married couples, by married couples.

  • About
  • Date Night Ideas
  • 50 Ways to Love Your Lover
  • About
  • Date Night Ideas
  • 50 Ways to Love Your Lover

Pages

  • 20 Ways to Become a More Patient Spouse this Week
  • 25 Conversation Starter Questions on Sexuality
  • 50 Questions to ask your spouse besides “How was your day?”
  • 50 Ways to Engage Kids on a Budget
  • 50 Ways to Love Your Lover
  • About
  • At Home Dating
  • BAILEY’S TREE
  • Barriers to Forgiveness and Healing
  • Confronting for the Sake of Our Relationship
  • Conversation Starters
  • Date Night Ideas
  • Dialogue
  • Double Chocolate Brownies
  • Emotional Bank Account
  • Feelings Reflect Who I am as a Unique Individual
  • Four Basic Psychological Needs
  • How to Foster Teamwork – A Starter List
  • In Memory of Fr. Tom Ogg
  • Let’s Talk about Sex
  • Making Decisions as a Couple – 10 Steps
  • Marriage Check-up Exercise
  • Our Family Commandments
  • Phones at the Dinner Table Discussion Questions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Re-Evaluation
  • Stress vs. Burnout and Depression
  • The Power of Positive: Examples of Converting Negatives about our Relationship to Positives
  • There’s Always Something More to Talk About
  • Worldwide Marriage Encounter Experience
  • Writing a Focused Love Letter
  • Behaviors,  Communication,  Honesty,  Making Decisions,  Playfulness,  Stress,  Time

    3 Tips to Reduce Holiday Stress

    November 14, 2022 / No Comments

    Like it or not, the Holidays are upon us. Jack-o-Lanterns may still be on the porches, but Christmas will be here before we know it. Here are 3 practical tips to reduce Holiday stress and find Joy as the Countdown to Christmas continues.

    Read More
    Tom and Mary Frances

    You May Also Like

    being right

    To Be, or Not To Be…Right?

    September 8, 2025

    Control in This Thing Called Life

    June 24, 2024
    marriage requires commitment like the olympics

    Marriage – the Olympics of Relationships

    February 23, 2026
  • Uncategorized

    Will It Matter Tomorrow?

    August 21, 2022 / 1 Comment

    Will it matter tomorrow . . . if the avocados were too firm to slice for salad tonight? Will it matter tomorrow if the dishwasher wasn’t loaded the way you load it? What if a favorite cotton sweater got dried on high heat with the bath towels? Will it matter tomorrow?

    Read More
    Tom and Mary Frances

    You May Also Like

    Lessons Learned We Have

    May 1, 2023

    Easter Blessings:

    April 20, 2025
    coffee, pen and paper with text "Ask the right questions"

    F.I.N.E.

    September 6, 2021
  • Accountability,  Communication,  Decision to Love,  Making Decisions,  Perseverance,  Stress

    Marriage Is a Teeter-Totter Ride

    July 18, 2022 / 2 Comments

    If you’ve spent time on a playground before 2004, you’ve probably hopped on a teeter-totter. Marriage is a teeter-totter ride. It can be relaxing, a gentle give and take. Marriage, like a teeter-totter can also be an experience of thrilling highs and the dizzying feeling of dropping low.

    Read More
    Tom and Mary Frances

    You May Also Like

    Candid Chris

    March 7, 2022
    running up the down escalator

    Running Up A Downward Escalator 

    May 11, 2026

    Emotional Baggage

    February 3, 2026
  • Conflict,  Decision to Love,  Differences,  Making Decisions,  Stress,  Uncategorized

    Making Decisions as a Couple is a 3-Legged Race

    June 5, 2022 / No Comments

    We make several thousand decisions a day. Most are based on experience and intuition — like putting your pants on one leg at a time. But making decisions as a couple requires skill, like a 3-Legged Race. Here are some tips to cross the finish line with skin and joints intact.

    Read More
    Tom and Mary Frances

    You May Also Like

    We’re Broken  

    January 12, 2026

    Tip of the Iceberg

    October 2, 2023

    How to FIX Your Spouse

    July 12, 2020
  • Communication,  Listening

    The #1 Communication Problem in Marriage

    May 2, 2022 / No Comments

    The number one communication problem in marriage is that we do not listen. 80% of couples who seek marriage counseling have issues with communication. Rest assured we are normal — not perfect, but normal.

    Read More
    Tom and Mary Frances

    You May Also Like

    Sex-pectations

    June 15, 2020
    signs pointing various directions

    Choose Your Hard

    October 10, 2022

    Marriage Wake-Up Calls

    August 7, 2023
  • Uncategorized

    Teamwork in Marriage: Ditch the Scorekeeping Habit

    March 14, 2022 / No Comments

    Scorekeeping never wins in marriage. Why? Because no one wants to sleep with a Loser. Ditch the scorekeeping habit and you both score a win. Teamwork takes the gold.

    Read More
    Tom and Mary Frances

    You May Also Like

    Life is Full of Risks

    March 6, 2023

    Autumn is Proof that Change is Beautiful

    October 6, 2024

    Marriage is a Minefield

    May 22, 2022
  • Uncategorized

    Start Intentional Gifting and Celebrate Your Valentine All Year

    February 14, 2022 / 2 Comments

    Valentine’s Day is second only to Christmas for gift buying. Cards say what we can’t put into words. A fancy dinner is treasured time, but flowers fade and chocolate quickly disappears. What if you could spend less and give more by offering a gift of love nearly every day? You can with Intentional Gifting.

    Read More
    Tom and Mary Frances

    You May Also Like

    coffee, pen and paper with text "Ask the right questions"

    F.I.N.E.

    September 6, 2021

    The Power of Gratitude in Marriage

    November 17, 2024

    Have New Year’s Resolutions Become Cliche?

    December 26, 2022
  • Behaviors,  Happiness

    Cultivating Happiness

    January 10, 2022 / No Comments

    morning sunrise with highway foreground

    Read More
    Tom and Mary Frances

    You May Also Like

    Yelping My Spouse Round One

    April 20, 2026
    Little things Man opening door for woman

    Little Things

    January 24, 2022
    being right

    To Be, or Not To Be…Right?

    September 8, 2025
  • couple giving a wrapped gift
    Uncategorized

    Gratitude — It’s All Around US

    November 22, 2021 / No Comments

    Thanksgiving is our favorite holiday. This year our kids will all be home, from as far-away as Alaska. We love to cook and many hands in the kitchen will make for fun and feast. Our hearts are bursting with Gratitude. This is what we often refer to as the Big “G”. Gratitude is a Powerful Word

    Read More
    Tom and Mary Frances

    You May Also Like

    Memorial Day 2025

    May 26, 2025

    Be Curious

    December 17, 2023

    December 25, 2023
  • Uncategorized

    Hibernation Is For Bears

    October 18, 2021 / No Comments

    There is so much we love about fall . . . There is so much we love about fall — the cool crisp air and vibrant colors, the sudden absence of mosquitoes and sounds of honking geese overhead. Mother Nature has given up her bounty to our enjoyment of hearty soups, stews and chilis. Fall has so much to teach us as we venture inside, to a simpler life, and return to a routine. It is a much-needed end to a crazy summer. Time to reflect and begin again.

    Read More
    Tom and Mary Frances

    You May Also Like

    Don’t Roll Your Eyes and Say Whatever

    April 6, 2025

    Life is Full of Risks

    March 6, 2023

    The Whole is Greater than the Sum of its Parts

    June 8, 2026
23456

Categories

Subscribe

Subscribe to receive new content every week
Loading

Recent Posts

  • Making Home a Safe Place
  • For Richer or Poorer
  • Prioritizing US
  • “Just Do It!”
  • FlatTire #2

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org
© 2026 The Couples Post