I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: being a parent is tough – especially when you’re trying to work, take care of yourself, and maintain a healthy relationship with your partner (whew – i’m tired just writing that). I, personally, feel like I’ve done a fairly good job of balancing work and taking care of myself while being a mama to my two little ones. But something I struggle with often is keeping the romance alive with my husband while we’re both trying to juggle everything else we do on a daily basis. And after chatting with some of my girlfriends about it, I realized so many of them are in the same boat (ah, the joys of parenthood, right?)
Today, I really want to encourage all of you to nurture your relationship with your significant other. I know that it can be hard to find the time, but to me, it is so important to make the time. I want to reiterate that I am in no way shape or form a healthy relationship tip expert (ladies, if you have any more tips, send ‘em my way!), but I want to share my thoughts on what has worked for me thus far. Here goes!
I recently wrote a blog post about balancing mom life with real life, and in it, I mentioned a recent vacation my husband and I took to Iceland. Now I know that a solo getaway may not be in the cards for everyone (trust me, this was a much-needed first for us), but I have to tell you – it was a freakin’ game-changer. We were able to reconnect, unplug, and just be husband and wife. It was a breath of fresh air and I can’t wait to do it again (i’m hoping my mother-in-law reads this not-so-subtle hint). That said, if traveling is out of the question, no problem! Instead, make time for dinner at your favorite restaurant, a movie, or a spa/pool day. And if leaving the house is not your thing, that’s fine too – put the kids to bed, break out some bubbly, or cuddle on the couch in front of the fire.
Oh, and I don’t know if it was just us, but my husband and I used to spend the majority of our date nights talking about the hilarious sh*t our kids did that day (or week, or month, ha). Just recently, we decided that we were going to declare date nights no-talking-about-the-kids-nights. Hear me out before I get mom shamed: we spend every single day either with the kids, doing stuff for the kids, or talking about the kids. That said, carving out a few hours a few times a month to only talk about “adult stuff” has been keeping us sane. Try it and let me know how it works for you.
Do you have any healthy relationship tips? As always, I’m all ears.
