Long-Term Relationships: 5 Ways To Keep The Spark Alive
By Christina Steinorth. Posted on .
I wanted to get away from the more standard type of Valentines Day articles that seem to surround gifts and hot sex, so I asked this question on my Facebook page: What topic should I write about for Valentines Day?
While I received many great answers, one that seemed to pop up more than others was: What about an article for those of us who are in long-term relationships or have been married for many years? I gave it some thought, and my fans were right — there aren't a lot of articles relating to Valentines Day and long-term relationships.
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I loved the idea.
As many of you know, come April I will have been married to my husband for 14 years (we've been together for almost 16). While we don't have the hot, crazy, spark of love we may have had at the start of our relationship, what we have now is something far sexier — a deep understanding and admiration for each other that makes our love life even more passionate than it was when we first got together. We didn't get to this point by accident though — it has taken a lot of work and as well as consistent effort on both of our parts.
Here are my five best tips for those of you who are in long-term relationships to keep your spark alive:
1. Start doing things together. A lot times — especially in long-term relationships — we start to live our own lives so to speak and do less and less things with our partners. Start doing activities together three to five times a week. Go for a walk, go for a bike ride or shop for and cook a meal together once a week. It will bring you closer and give you shared experiences to bond over.
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2. Touch each other and do it often. Touch doesn't need to be sexual to draw us closer to our partner. Rub each other's shoulders from time-to-time. Hold hands when you walk. When we touch each other, it helps us feel more connected with one another. Keep reading ...
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