From our marriage & parenting contributor, Mary Carver.
While we are in the middle of the busy holiday season, it is hard to stay connected and schedule time to be together. We’ve learned some simple ways to spend time together that won’t increase your stress levels!
I told someone the other day that my husband and I aren’t even ships passing in the night right now. We’re more like ships in completely different oceans.
Thankfully, we do live in the same house.
My husband isn’t deployed or traveling extensively for work.
But he does work incredibly long hours on the night shift, which means our time together – as a couple and as a family – is extremely limited.
Recently we’ve been attending a marriage class at our church, and one of the topics we’ve covered is connection.
In our particular group it felt like my husband and I have a unique struggle, but I know that’s not the case in general.
I have many friends whose husbands are gone at either unusual or unpredictable times or for extended time (and sometimes both).
When one or both spouses are away from home a lot, staying connected can be difficult.
If you or your husband work an odd shift, work more than one job, work in law enforcement or medicine, own or run a business, serve in the military, or any other number of things that keep you busy, connecting with him may take what feels like a superhuman effort.
And, of course, if you’re already running on steam because of that exhausting schedule, that make seem impossible!
But it’s not.
Staying connected to your husband doesn’t mean you need to plan (and pay for – ugh!) a weekend getaway every month.
You don’t need to schedule walks on the beach or candlelit dinners, or fear the consequences. (Although, let’s be honest. If you live near the beach or own candles, those things never hurt!)
Staying connected to your husband during super busy, crazy chaotic seasons can happen with a few simple, intentional moves.
First, maybe we should define “staying connected,” though.
When I use that phrase, I mean that both spouses maintain a warm feeling about one another, showing each other kindness and attempting to make the other one feel loved on a regular basis.
What keeping that loving feeling looks like, tangibly and practically, in YOUR marriage?
That’s up to you (and your husband)!
Now, on to the tips!
7 Ways to Stay Connected During Busy Seasons
Date Nights: I know, I know – big surprise! Date nights = everyone’s solution for improving your marriage! But seriously, you guys. Finding time to spend together, alone, is crucial. It doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive. Last week we had our monthly date night scheduled but I couldn’t find a babysitter. So I reserved a movie rental and made sure we had popcorn in the pantry, and we still had time together after putting the girls to bed.
Eat a Meal Together: Since we’re already talking about busy seasons, it’s obvious that eating dinner together each evening may be difficult or even impossible. But if you can’t eat dinner together, can you eat breakfast at the same time? Meet for lunch? Feed the kids at the normal time and eat with your husband later? Skype while you eat your meals in completely different time zones? However you arrange it, something about sharing a meal creates a closeness that can’t be duplicated with other food-free interactions.
Send Him a Message: I send my husband a text message each night before going to bed. It’s the end of my day but the middle of his work day, and I just want to make sure he knows I’m thinking of him. We’ve also started using Voxer, a voice message (and text message) app on our phones that allow us to leave messages for each other when we’re thinking about it – without waking each other up (a problem since our schedules are opposite). Maybe those things would work for you, or perhaps you need nightly phone calls or morning Skype dates. The point is to keep communicating so you can stay on the same page, even if you’re not in the same room.
Watch a Show Together: One of the perks to having a husband who works nights is that I don’t have to share the remote or negotiate the shows we watch. However, it also means that we’ve picked a handful of shows that we record and watch together on the weekend. And when “our” shows aren’t on, we watch something together on Netflix.
Others might say that watching TV together isn’t spending quality time together. But for us, it is. It’s something we only do together and it’s something we have in common. And though you might not think deep conversations could come from watching an episode of Castle or catching up on all five seasons of Friday Night Lights, you would be wrong.
Share a Hobby: If TV isn’t your thing, maybe you could read a book together and discuss it when you finally have time together. Or plant a garden together or refinish furniture together or train for a 5K together. (Or train for a 5K separately and then run the race together.) As long as you’re doing something together that you both enjoy, you’re connecting!
Write Him a Letter: My husband doesn’t know it, but on the rare occasion he leaves a note for me (“Don’t forget toilet paper at the store,” “Please wake me up at 4:30,” “Here’s that check to deposit.”), I keep them. There’s something special about seeing his handwriting and his words written just for me – even if they are about mundane, everyday things. It reminds me of the days when we dated and exchanged notes and letters, the days when the most serious thing we had to discuss was our feelings for each other.
Today I’m more likely to send that nightly text or scribble a sentence or two in a birthday card than write him a love letter. But I do think about it sometimes. I wonder if I could convince him to share a journal where we left each other notes. I wonder if I could make time to actually write him a letter. On paper. With a pen. I can’t say I have experience with this tip, but after all my wondering, I’m certain that doing this – even every once in a while – would amp up my connection with my husband.
Think Happy Thoughts: Even before my husband worked nights, he worked evenings. And before that, he worked two jobs. So we’ve had lots of practice fighting the drift of missed connection. For many years I spent that time alone, annoyed and resentful. I’ve learned that strategy is NOT the way to stay connected with your husband, in case you were wondering.
I’ll be completely honest: I still struggle with resentment sometimes. A schedule like ours is super annoying and can be super frustrating, too. But when I maintain a good attitude, focusing on the good parts of our life, remembering all the many reasons I love him, and expressing gratitude instead of grumbling, it’s a whole lot easier to connect with my husband when he finally gets home.
How do you stay connected to your husband during busy seasons?
Photos by Richard Min, bigbirdz, and Natalie Lucier.
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