i agree with the other mamas...
i'm also reading "the five love languages' lol and am learning a bit there too.
best advice... well.... i agree with being nice to your partner. Saying please, and thank you and offering to help or doing things for him without being asked goes a LONG way. Giving gifts too... a foot rub, making a special meal, printing a card out of the computer, sending an email.... saying somehow "im' thinking of you and i love you" in physical terms keeps things nice with us.
what else...
compliments. Saying ' you look great' or " you're so good at that' or 'wow, thanks for cooking , what a nice treat' . I try to do that with my kids, why woudln't i do that with my dh.
Talking - i agree that men aren't girlfriends and you can't expect them to be chatty...but i also think sometimes at least with us, dh will "stuff" his feelings and not talk...and sooner or later he'll just blow over something small. If i can keep him communicating with me we are all alot happier.
Laughing - keeping a sense of humor. giggling over silly stuff. being silly even. I dunno...sometimes for us thats watching southpark and eating popcorn. or a water balloon fight in the summer. i dunno. remembering to have fun.
maybe its just that you TRY. all the time. Whether its trying to give a compliment, trying to be polite, trying to make your spouse laugh, trying to give a gift - you keep on trying. So TRY. thats the best advice i'd give. Keep trying.
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~Barb
Mama to Chelsey,19, Zoey,8 and Roman, 5
Happy Holidays from my family to yours!