When you first fall in love with someone, everything they do will give you butterflies. You will be so head over heels with them, that you may not notice their slight imperfections or occasional bad habits. You'll essentially brag about your relationship to your friends and family and possibly even flood social media with your love quotes and photographs.
And that's okay.
You see, when you've been with a person for quite some time, it's easy to forget what got you there in the first place. Everything becomes so routine and you almost start to take your relationship for granted. You wake up, get ready for work, mumble a few words and you're out the door. Later that night you converse about your day over dinner and that's if you don't consumer yourself with whatever is on TV first.
It's sad, really. We fall into this hole of routine and regularity and suddenly the words "I love you" become meaningless. The hug and kiss good-bye become a chore. The conversations go from exciting and filled with laughter to one word answers and barely looking up from your phone.
But there's a way to fix it. To prevent it from happening. Instead of focusing on routines and rituals, be spunky. Say what's on your mind. If you're mad, be mad - but be mad for a reason. If you're feeling especially excited or happy, share that. Let that other person consume all that is you, instead of all that is Family Guy or One Tree Hill.
If you have children, you know how easy it is to invest your everything into them and solely become parents. Remember what got you to that chapter in the first place. Ask for a sitter once in awhile, plan a date night, or don't plan at all and just wing it. Laugh until you cry and say inappropriate jokes without second thought. Become who you were before "parents".
The moral of the story is, regardless of if you are 15, 26, 38, 57, or 96 - never stop dating. Never let that newly wed feeling go away. Never let the words "I love you" become meaningless. Never let the routines deplete your relationship.
Love hard, love with meaning, and love always.
