USE FAMILY AND FRIENDS
39. Next time a member of her family calls and you answer the phone, stay on the line a chat a minute before handing off the phone. She’ll be touched that you want to speak to her relatives.
40. Invite his best friend to dinner and stay for a drink … then cut out to give the two some time together.
41. Take out his yearbook. Ask about the people in it and what they meant to him.
42. Borrow a friend’s dog and take it for a walk together. Dogs bring out people’s good sides.
43. Read a book to your child together, switching off pages.
44. Bring him a glass of wine (or water) when he’s helping your child with her homework.
45. When you hear the baby crying in the middle of the night, be the first one to get up.
46. Write her mom a note, and praise her on how well she raised her daughter.
DAILY LIFE
47. Do her chores. Take out the garbage or do the dishes, even if it’s not your turn or your job.
48. Cover him with a blanket. If you’re up in the middle of the night or have to leave early in the morning and you see your partner has tossed the comforter off, take a minute and tuck him in.
49. Set out her coffee cup next to the coffee pot with milk and sugar in the morning … so all she has to do is pour and get out the door.
50. Next time you wake up before him… turn off the alarm clock and rouse him by kissing his forehead.
51. Repair something of hers that she hasn’t gotten around to fixing: an old watch battery or a broken bracelet clasp.
52. Pick up her dry cleaning.
53. Next time you know she hasn’t gotten enough sleep and she’s going to work tired, tell her she looks great. (Whatever you do, don’t tell her she looks tired.)
54. When she tells you something about her schedule, put it on your calendar so you can remember to ask about it: a big meeting at work, a doctor’s appointment, a lunch with an old friend.
SURPRISES
55. Leave an open bottle of wine and an empty glass in the kitchen for your spouse after a long, hard day. Hopefully you’ll be able to join for a glass, but even if you’re working late or taking the kids to soccer practice, it’s a sign of how much you appreciate him/her.
56. Keep gifts for him hidden in the house so you’ll have a surprise for him if he’s had a bad day.
57. Get him a subscription to a magazine he likes.
58. Buy a pack of his brand of clean underwear. Next time he needs to do laundry but doesn’t have time, give it to him.
59. Pre-order a book from Amazon from an author you know she loves so it’ll arrive right after it’s published.
60. Just once, upgrade to a small luxury item you know she likes but doesn’t usually indulge in: super soft toilet paper, organic arugula, a fancy bottle of wine.
61. Start planning her next gift right now. Figure out the date of the next big holiday — a birthday, anniversary or religious celebration — and think about what she might want. Pay attention to things she says she wants and write them down. Thinking about giving will extend the joy we get from being generous.
62. Scrawl a heart and your initials in the steam on the bathroom mirror. He’ll see it if he comes in right away, or next time the mirror fogs up.
63. Write love notes and put them places you know you’re partner will find them: in his coat pocket, in her jewelry box, in the silverware drawer, on the laptop keyboard.
64. Send flowers to her office. It doesn’t have to be a fancy bouquet, anything fresh-cut will look pretty on her desk and remind her of you.
USE TECHNOLOGY
65. Ask him to send a baby picture of himself or another picture without you in it and make it your computer wallpaper. (“That shot of you and your Grandpa Rex after you caught that big salmon? Superhot.”)
66. Change the background of her phone to a picture of the two of you.
67. Make a playlist of all the songs that remind you of your relationship and put it on his iPod or iPhone.
68. Copy and paste the lyrics from a love song into an email and send it to her.
69. Send him a link to a song on YouTube that makes you think of him.
70. Think about something you’ve both wanted to do together ... (travel to Costa Rica, learn French, build a fence, etc.) and find a TV show you can tape or a website that shows you how to do it. Plan a date night around watching it together.
71. Email her an old photo of the two of you on vacation or your wedding day.
72. Set the DVR to record a show she’s been talking about but hasn’t yet recorded. Or look for a show you know she’ll like and tape it for her.
73. Clean his computer keyboard and monitor.
74. In the middle of the day, send a text message that says “Thinking of you.”
75. Start a couples blog.