When I first heard the idea of always dating your spouse, I thought it was so dumb, don't you get married so you don't have to date anymore? This week we learned about building a love map. This map that we build with our spouse helps keep us together through hard times, it gives us happy moments even when we are being dragged through the mud, they "enable a couple to adjust and adapt to changes or upheavals that may occur during the course of life." . We can make these maps by continuing to work on our relationship and friendship with each other.
When my husband and I first got married, we were both still students. We had a tiny apartment in Rexburg Idaho and we loved it. We had a few classes together on campus and ate lunch together in between our jobs and classes. It was great, we saw each other all the time. That perfect semester only lasted for well, a semester, then life hit us pretty hard. I had to work almost full time to help support our family so my husband could finish school, he was taking 20+ credits so he could try and get done faster so I didn't have to work so much. It was rough, we hardly saw each other and when we did we were so tired we would sleep.
We thought life would get easier when my husband's schooling was done, but we sure were wrong. Things like new jobs, kids, moving and family struggles hit at us left and right. I will admit my husband and I haven't gone on a real date together in a long while, but we still have our mini dates every day. After our daughter goes to sleep, we will play video games or watch youtube together. We laugh together, talk and just be together. I think that these nightly moments are what have helped keep our marriage so strong through our trials. We always put each other and our relationship first.
As we build our love maps, we need to set aside time with our spouse to make sure we still know them and their interests. We need to spend time together that isn't just sitting on our phones. As we build on those small little love moments, eventually we will have love so big, its unimaginable.
“I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once.” - The Fault In Our Stars
