Today for my 5 Do’s and a Don’t I have sweet Heather from Life with Heather. I just love this girl to pieces. We have been paired up for 2 swaps and we write for My Twenties Blog together. She is such a sweet friend and if you aren’t reading her blog you are majorly missing out!
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Hey ya’ll! I’m Heather and I blog over at Life with Heather…I’m also quite active on the Twitter too :).
I was so thrilled when Neely asked me to a be a part of her 5 Do’s and Don’t series! Neely and I “met” when we were partnered up for a swap and it was an instant friendship! She is such a genuine and heartful lady with a wonderful blog!
For my Do’s and Don’t I wanted to share something I’m quite passionate about, my relationship with my boyfriend of 6 years – Nathan.
After being in a relationship for that long I think I’m at liberty to share a few little helpful tidbits…so here they are…
DO talk about your issues.
I think this is the #1 reason why most relationships fail. NO COMMUNICATION. If you never talk about issues hindering you both how can your relationship flourish? There are many times that Nathan and I will be arguing and I just want to crawl into my shell and not speak, but he quickly reminds me to “use my words” and not pout. Those, my friends, are words to live by.
DO spend “technology free” time together.
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This one I even have to work on myself…and it falls right in with the communication issues. Technology today hinders the relationship we have with our significant other. We are constantly trying to stay up to date on our Facebook and Twitter feeds when we need to be putting our cells phones and computers down to have good ol’ quality time with each other. So put the cell phone down and snuggle! It’s better for you :).
DO take trips together.
Some of my best memories with Nathan are when he and I have taken trips together. Even if it isn’t some extravagant trip, maybe just a weekender, it will do you both wonders to have a little R&R together!
DO have date nights.
If you’re like me, I’d much rather put on a pair of PJ’s, have Nathan cook me a meal, and pop in a movie than go out on an actual date. I won’t lie when I say I’m lazy and hate putting on make-up and getting dressed up, but sometimes it’s exactly what you need!
DO encourage each other.
Nathan has one interest that I absolutely hate, motorcycle riding. It all stems from one bad dirtbike wreck 3 years ago where he flipped over the handlebars while wearing no helmet. You can probably only imagine how horrible it was. Considering all that, he still loves it and I’m not going to stop him, so all I can do is make sure he’s safe while doing it. Point is – even if you don’t agree with what interests your man don’t discourage him from it. Don’t try to change him just because it doesn’t interest you.
DON’T be selfish.
A relationship isn’t a one way street, it’s all about the give and the take. It ain’t Burger King and you can’t have it your way all the time. Go hang out with his friends even if it’s not what you want to do, watch that football game (or motorcycle race in my case), or go to a certain restaurant you don’t really enjoy because it’s what he enjoys. You know they do all this for us at some point or another!
Thanks for letting me share in the fun Neely! I’ve enjoyed it immensely :).
I love every single one of these Heather! All are definitely important for a successful relationship 🙂
This is a must read for the hubs! I try so hard for him to go tech free for an hour… Love these.
Oh I love the relationship dos and don’t! I am bad about pouting and not using my words too! :-/
Thanks again for letting me guest post :)!
I love all of these! They are all important! I think communication is so important and spending technology free time!
Perfect advice! I “dated” my now husband for 7 1/2 years before we got married (we’ve now been married for almost 3 years) and I would definitely say we do or are working on all of the things you mentioned. Great post!