SHARE A RITUAL
“At night before bed, I started putting wrinkle cream on my husband! At first he would protest and grumble, but now he requests it and closes his eyes and takes in a moment of pampering. And every day, he sends me ‘Songs of the Day,’ which we call SODs. He finds songs on YouTube that express how he feels and sends them as links via email. They always make me smile—I often cry. He started when we were dating, and they have continued. Sometimes I send them back, but his are always better.” –Christina H.
DOLE OUT COMPLIMENTS
“I seriously tell my husband at least once a day how hot and handsome he is. And every time I do, he looks at me and I SWEAR he gets tears in his eyes and says, ‘Thank you for saying that.’ ” –Melissa Chapman, founder of the sex and relationship blog I Married My Sugar Daddy
HOLD ON
“Couples should take five minutes each morning and each night to simply hold each other. This is a wonderful way to start and end your day. Though you may give a hug before leaving for work or hug your partner before falling asleep, this is a focused moment to consciously share with your partner. –Charley Ferrer, PhD, clinical sexologist and author of Sex Unlimited
KISS GOODBYE
“Every morning, I leave for work before my man. And we have the same ritual: When I’m at the door, I holler out, ‘Bye!’ And he says, “Wait!” and runs over to tell me I look pretty and to kiss me goodbye. We never, ever leave the house without kissing each other goodbye.” –Aryn Q.
BRUSH UP
“When we go to bed, whoever goes first always ‘butters’ the other person’s toothbrush so that when the other person comes to bed his or her toothbrush is already ‘pasted’ and waiting! It’s a sweet little gesture, a reminder that we love each other. (And yes there are definitely nights when we are annoyed with one another and the toothbrush accidentally does not get ‘buttered!’) We do this in the a.m., too…whoever gets up first to brush his or her teeth puts toothpaste on the other’s toothbrush.” –Stephanie E.