Red hearts. Chocolate candies. Flowery cards. While tasty and pretty, they are tired cliches this time of year. Instead of waiting until February 14th to declare your everlasting love, start now by choosing your favorite ideas from the list below.
- Send a daily text telling him something you like about him. It doesn’t have to be a big thing and can be as simple as, “I like that you remember to turn the coffee pot off for me every morning.”
- Send him to his room. When he comes home from work, direct him to your room and have a drink waiting with a note telling him to relax for 15 minutes before dinner.
- Let him know that you are proud of him. Maybe he hates his job, but he goes to it every day because your family needs him to do that.
- Be specific. Don’t just say, “good job,” but let him know exactly what you appreciated or admired about something they did. “You make the best voices when you read bedtime stories!”
- Say “thank you.” Oprah taught the world to keep a gratitude journal. Only this time, spend a week or two keeping a gratitude journal specifically for your marriage and then share it with him.
- Make his favorite meals. Even if he is a good sport about all the “Meatless Mondays” you’ve been serving, maybe it isn’t his first choice. Be intentional with your menu planning because as they say, “the way to a man’s heart…”
- Have fun. It’s easy to get caught up in the important job of parenting together, but purpose to have fun with him apart from the hard task of raising little people.
- Keep the kids quiet. If your husband is like mine, lots of loud noises just give him a headache. Plan a quiet evening and even if it doesn’t work out, hopefully he will appreciate the effort.
- Be kind. Too often, time our with our other mom friends includes a session I call, “who has the worst husband.” This isn’t productive. Instead of talking about him, talk to him. Kindly, please.
- Be presentable. This is a touchy one, but I think it’s important so I’m going there. Most men are very visual and will appreciate it if you make the effort and put a little extra thought into your appearance. Spit up happens of course, but here again, the effort can go a long way.
- Pack his lunch. Our mornings are busy and sometimes husbands get overlooked while we attend to the kids. We all know a sandwich tastes better when someone else makes it. If you already do this, add an encouraging note or poem to his lunch bag. School kids aren’t the only ones who appreciate a note from mom.
- Pick his brain. As crunchy moms, we are so used to doing the research we may overlook what our spouse thinks about a situation. Everyone processes information differently and it’s important that our partners know we value their opinion.
- Praise him. Online. In person. By snail mail. Wherever you can reasonably let others know about the value that he adds to the world, do it.
- Exhibit passion towards him. Morning, noon, or night. There is rarely a wrong time to sneak in a long kiss or squeeze.
What would you add?
