Do This Once A Year To Revive Your Partnership

One of the couples climbing the Gros Piton with us in St. Lucia is also celebrating their 10-year anniversary, like my husband and I are. As we hoist our tired muscles up and over rocks and natural mountain-made stairs, our guide (who is younger than all of us by a decade or so) asks us what the secret is to making it through 10 years of marriage.

The four of us chuckle and reply, “Hard work.”

“Commitment.”

“It’s kind of like this mountain climb. Some parts are really challenging. Some parts are easier. But the view at the top is worth it.”

It is worth it. Being in a loving, respectful, fun marriage where both people can be themselves and support one another in growth is worth it.

“And getting away just the two of you on a vacation like this – without the demands of children, work, pets, and home – to reconnect and remember why you love one another is so important.”

True dat.

Later that night in our open-air hillside room with an incredible view of the Caribbean Sea, with this blog post formulating in my head, I ask my sweet husband why he thinks a vacation like this is so good for us.

He smiles at me with the innocence and vulnerability of a young school boy falling in love for the first time, the same look I noticed and reciprocated the love with back when we were in college.

“Here we can be silly and not so serious,” he says. “We have big jobs with lots of responsibility and we try to do our best as parents, which is hard work. Getting away gives us space to laugh and fall in love again.”

I love his answer.

Now, I’ve been intentionally creating more fun, laughter, and silliness in my everyday life, but he’s got a point. Without the normal stressors of the day-to-day, there is space to be our weird selves, to laugh and reconnect many times throughout the day. There is space to discuss our goals and dream big about the future. There is space to examine our concerns. There is space to reminisce on the adventures and challenges we’ve gone through together. There is space to rest, restore, and rejuvenate our love.

This is why one of my life goals is to get away with my husband every single year – just the two of us – for an incredible, memory-making, love-reviving vacation.

Because it’s a goal I take seriously, I make it happen. I plan throughout the year to ensure we have the money, time, and support for our kids and dogs to get away.

How are you planning to get away from the everyday fullness of life to reconnect with your partner and rekindle the most important relationship in your life this year?

Pause for a moment and listen to what is going on in your thoughts right now as I ask this question.

Do you have an answer, or do you have an excuse?

I believe that we either make things happen or we make excuses. I call BS to your excuses as I’ve learned from several of my coaches that “everything is figure-out-able.” And if there’s one thing that’s worth figuring out, it’s how to keep the flames of your partnership burning bright.

Make it happen. Ditch the excuse. Rejuvenate yourself and your love. You and your partner deserve it.

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