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expectations

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5 Signs You Need to Check Your Expectations

By Relationship Basics8 Comments

“That movie was such a letdown. From what everyone’s been saying, I expected it to be so much better!”

Have you ever experienced this kind of disappointment? Expectations have a huge effect on the way you perceive and experience life. Whether it’s that over-hyped movie, a party you thought you’d leave early (but ended up staying late), or the difficulty in transitioning to a new life stage, sometimes your own expectations can cloud the true nature of the situation at hand. In marriage, this can be a particularly game-changing realization – that you have the power within yourself to feel happier and more satisfied in your relationship. If you’ve been struggling in your relationship lately, here are five signs you might need to check your expectations. Read More

February 16, 2022
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family gathering for a birthday party

The What, When, and How of Family Boundaries

By Family & Friends10 Comments

Whether your relationship with your in-laws and your own family is usually pretty great or has its ups and downs, there are situations that test your family boundaries. If your families already struggle with boundary issues, certain circumstances may exacerbate them even more, putting additional strain on the relationships. If your boundaries are usually pretty healthy, you might still experience some tension as you navigate the situation at hand. Read More

October 13, 2021
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Relationship Basics - Part 2

Why You Should Hype Up Date Night

By Connection, Quality Time10 Comments

Dates. Couples are always told to prioritize going on regular dates. We’ve certainly talked a lot about the importance of dates here on the Prepare/Enrich blog. We’ve given many ideas for day dates, cheap dates, weekend getaway dates, at-home dates, the standard date nights, and so on and so forth. We’ve talked about why dates are important – they provide opportunity to connect, go deeper in conversation with each other, and really invest in your relationship. We’ve also helped you overcome common obstacles couples face when they try and schedule a date – childcare, expectations, expense, etc.

But today, we’re sharing why you should hype up dates with your spouse and how you can do that without setting yourselves up for disappointment. Read More

July 7, 2021
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Why Real Marriage Is Better Than a Fairytale

By Relationship Basics, Resilience8 Comments

“…and they lived happily ever after.”
We’ve all heard these feel-good words, whether we remember them from our childhood or read them to our own children every night. As adults, we chuckle, knowing they’re no more realistic than the talking animals and magic spells that fill the storybook pages before them. Despite knowing this logically, there might be a part of us that thinks, “But wouldn’t happily ever after be nice?”

Well, sure, maybe if you’re a two dimensional character in a fairytale. But for complex people in real life marriages, happily ever after is overrated. Here’s why: Read More

June 9, 2021
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a smiling man spinning his wife around

To Be (Social) Or Not To Be: 5 Things to Talk About

By Quality Time, Relationship BasicsOne Comment

Believe it or not, our social lives can be a source of conflict. One partner needs more social interaction, while the other prefers much less. One person thinks the party is on Friday, but the other person is certain they told you Saturday. Throw in limited free time, kids, and other various circumstances, and things can turn into a mess pretty quickly.

One of the keys to navigating this challenge is obvious, but oh so important: clear and honest communication. Here are five things to make sure you’re talking about.

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March 31, 2021
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a couple holding hands and running through the snow - cropped to show only upper body

25 Creative Date Ideas

By Connection, Quality Time16 Comments

Dates are harder to make happen than we’d like to admit. There’s the challenge of prioritizing it enough to get it on the calendar, and then actually figuring out all the details and logistics, like finding a sitter.

Another challenge is deciding what to actually do! If you’ve been with your partner for any length of time, you know that dates can easily feel redundant and routine. You make the time to connect, but what if that connection time just feels like a rinse-and-repeat from the week prior? How can you spice up those dates you work so hard incorporate in your marriage?

Do something different! That’s the easiest way to make dates feel like something special and exciting. But we get it – thinking of date ideas is like adding one more task to that list of things you have to do to make it happen. Good news! We’ve got 25 date ideas for you – conveniently categorized into five different types to try!

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February 3, 2021
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A couple holding hands in the desert.

Why Your Expectations Sneak Up On You

By Relationship BasicsOne Comment

Expectations are like a measuring stick that we hold our reality up against. If they’re too high, you’re going to feel pretty disappointed in the state of things. Too low, and you might be settling for less than you should.

In the context of relationships, expectations play a huge role in how happy and satisfied you feel. But the process of learning how to manage them in a healthy way can come with its own set of growing pains. Why? What makes it so hard? Well, one reason is that oftentimes we don’t even realize we have them, or if we do, we don’t understand where they came from.

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November 4, 2020
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A man looking lovingly at a woman.

I’m So Annoyed With My Spouse

By Relationship Basics37 Comments

We all get annoyed with our partner from time to time. It’s inevitable. Sometimes it’s the little day-to-day things – their habits, quirks, or moments of forgetfulness. The laundry that they’ve tossed on the floor, not filling up the car with gas despite there being only a smidge left, leaving the carton of milk out on the counter. Or maybe it’s the repetitive habits like cracking knuckles, smacking gum, or clicking of a pen when they’re making the grocery list or working on paying the bills.

Then there are the bigger things that usually don’t happen all that often, but that really annoy us to the point of questioning our partner’s intentions. Things like double-scheduling an event on a day they knew we had other plans, or not doing a task we specifically asked them to do. We wonder how they could be so inconsiderate, instead of seeing it as an innocent mistake.

Either way, we get annoyed. But what we do with that annoyed feeling, how we deal with it, makes all the difference in the impact on your relationship in the long term. Annoyance can go unaddressed and turn into frustration and resentment, or you can tackle it head on and resolve it before those insidious emotions take root.

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July 29, 2020
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A couple smiling and staring into each others eyes.

How to Fill Your Free Time (Without a Fight)

By Quality TimeNo Comments

When the world slowed down for a few months, many of us got a taste of what it was like to have more free time, albeit free time stuck at home. We learned how to bake new treats (banana bread? sourdough?), organized every drawer and cabinet, and maybe even took on some home improvement projects. But by now, we’re all itching to do the things we postponed or longed for during our days at home. On top of that anticipation, it’s also summer, which usually brings long weekends, vacations, and lots of get-togethers. What were previously “normal” decisions might now be met with a new sense of unease or anxiousness about being with and around others. Combine these factors with the urge to make up for the adventures we would’ve had this spring, and you have a situation that could lead to some heated discussions with your partner about where and how you’ll spend your precious free time.

Suffice it to say, this summer brings some new challenges for your relationship.

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July 8, 2020
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