Our wedding festivities were cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic. Nonetheless, we chose to still get married on our original date, and had the absolute best day of our lives with thirty of our closest family members and friends to celebrate our relationship. We thought to ourselves, “Since we missed out on ‘normal’ this year, we will really celebrate our anniversary in 2021!”
Reroute: Two pink lines. We’re pregnant!
We were absolutely thrilled that our family was growing. The catch? Baby was due on our first anniversary. Literally, the day of our anniversary.
Our sweet baby was born a few days early, and I vividly remember going home on our first wedding anniversary exhausted and full of anxiety of the unknown. We asked ourselves, “Will 2022 finally be our celebration year?”
Fast-forward to the year 2022. We made big plans to travel across the country, I had waaaaaay too much fun creating a travel itinerary and making every detail of the trip absolutely perfect, and we were days from purchasing our plane tickets. WAHOO! We finally get to celebrate!
Reroute: We’re pregnant…again! This time, with twins.
Ultimately, our celebration trip got cancelled, and our plans changed…yet, again.
Don’t get me wrong, we were thrilled for these reroutes and honestly couldn’t see life unfolding any other way. But, yes, it’s true, that we do still mourn having our “special day” taken from us and still desire to celebrate in a big way.
Reroute: Change in mindset.
We remembered that we can still celebrate “us” and continue to make time for our relationship in small ways throughout the year. It is all about intentionality with the time we get together. We don’t need a fancy vacation or big celebration to be intentional. More so, for us to maximize our time together, it has helped for us to be aware of each other’s love languages.
Each of us gives and receives love in different ways. When we have knowledge of our own and our partner’s preferred ways of giving and receiving love, the quality of time spent together is maximized. There are five love languages: Acts of Service, Receiving Gifts, Quality Time, Words of Affirmation, and Physical Touch.
Here are some date ideas for each of the five love languages to get you inspired:
Acts of Service
Cook a meal for your partner and clean up, complete a house project together, or take on their household chores for a day.
Receiving Gifts
Keep a running list of things your partner likes and points out to you in stores or online and surprise them with one of those gifts! Plan a date night full of your partner’s favorite things, or give them the gift of time to use however they wish.
Quality Time
Gravel travel to nowhere (gas station snacks, a solid playlist, and a destination to anywhere), take a local class (wine/painting, pottery, educational), or plan a day-long getaway full of their favorite activities!
Words of Affirmation
Write a letter or card, create one of those heartfelt Tik Tok videos that make you want to cry, or even renew your vows!
Physical Touch
Go dancing at your old favorite college bar, talk a scenic walk while holding hands, or watch a movie and snuggle (Netflix and chill, anyone?)
Parenthood is no joke, and if you’re reading this, I know you are fully aware of the demands parenthood requires of you. With children, it is too easy to not only lose yourself, but also your focus on your partner and relationship. Even though you might not get to take the big trip this year, it’s around the corner! In the meantime, challenge yourself to “reroute” your thinking on how to make the most of the time spent with your partner, and keeping your relationship on track through the many reroutes of life.
Interested in learning more about love languages? Take the quiz here.
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Can totally relate! Got married 2020 – 1st baby 2021…..no twins yet though :0
Best thing we did for ourselves was to make a point to have at least 2 date nights a month. Ultimate goal is once a week but we are working up to that. Babysitters can get expensive, but we try to think of it as an investment in our marriage