Michael and I really enjoyed our little get-away weekend retreat at our diocese's Engagement Encounter Weekend. We keep talking about it, and--God willing--we'd love to help be a mentor couple there in the future. No couple is perfect, of course, but if we're always willing to learn and try to improve, it can only do good for us and the people that surround us.
At the retreat, I learned more about Michael, more about myself, more about the sacrament we are about to enter, and more about conflict resolution.
Here are my top 3 favorites:
1. Hold hands when fighting. It will help you and your spouse to remember that it's always "us" and no longer "you" and "me."
2. Fight naked. If you try to argue in the buff, you're more likely to remember that this is the person whom you love intimately. Beholding your beloved being vulnerable in the buff will soften your heart, put your heart in the right place, and ultimately resolve the conflict more quickly.
3. Go to bed each night together at the same time. If spouses get in the habit of ending the day together and crawling into bed together, it will help keep them united.
Michael and I also discovered at this retreat that one of things we absolutely love about our family is how my Mom spontaneously throws random celebrations, such as she did shortly after we were engaged. She's been doing this for my whole life, but it took an outsider coming into our family to make me notice this more and more fully appreciate it.
Mom threw a spontaneous party for me when I bought my house, and she even threw a party for me before I bought the house, immediately when I got approved for a mortgage. She had a special cake made that said "Approved!" on it with a big red checked box. So thoughtful!
My mother has created some family traditions that Michael says he'd like us to continue! Thank you, Mom! We love you!
