It’s fall, y’all! The changing weather forces us to slow down and spend a little more time inside. Fall is a time for family, a time for friends, and also a time to reflect. To reflect on ourselves and on the state of our relationships. Though couples therapy is a great way to invest in your partnership, it isn’t the only way. Instead, you may choose to schedule a routine date night to keep your friendship strong, or you could attend an event meant for couples, like our Creating Connection Couples Retreat.
Investing in your relationship is about evaluating what you need and making these relationship needs a priority. How are things with you and your partner? Are you feeling connected and on the same page? Are you paying enough attention to your relationship to keep it sound?
Slowing down during the fall provides a great opportunity to refocus and increase your connection with your partner. Here are 3 ways you can invest in your relationship this October.
1) Plan for the holidays
Now is a good time to pre-plan for the holidays. This time of year can be a fun time with friends and family, but it can also be pretty stressful. Take some time to sit down with your partner and discuss the logistics of what you’ll be doing for each holiday. It’s important to show your partner you care by prioritizing time spent with your own side of the family as well as your partner’s side. Discuss whose family you’ll spend time with, when you’ll be going, and agree to be a support system for one another. Sometimes our families can really stress us out! You may choose to put your plans on a shared calendar that each of you has access to so there won’t be any confusion. Planning ahead of time can save you a lot of headache as you get closer to the holidays by allowing you to prepare as a couple, coordinate with each of your families ahead of time, and prevent you from having last minute arguments about your plans.
2) Celebrate Halloween together
Halloween… a wonderful time to let loose and dress up! One of my favorite things about halloween is coordinating costumes with my partner. For us, planning and shopping for all the pieces of our costumes is almost as much fun as dressing up. Need some couples costume ideas? Check out our Halloween Couples Costumes board on Pinterest. Some ideas are super cheesy, and some are really clever. Even cheesy can be fun though. Make it a family affair and include the kids too! Of course, you don’t have to actually coordinate your costumes to have a good time together. But it’s so much more fun when you have others to participate in the festivities with you.
3) Attend a couples retreat together
One way to directly invest in your relationship is to go to a workshop or retreat specifically created to strengthen your bond as a couple. Couples retreats are a great way to reconnect with one another on a deeper level and explore the dynamics of your relationship. Our retreat, coming up on October 20th, is a time for you to learn about research-based practices to keep your relationship strong through the ups and downs of your lives together. It’s also a fun alternative to traditional premarital counseling. Join us for Creating Connection Couples Retreat to explore ways of nurturing your friendship, how to meet one another’s needs, improving communication and emotional understanding, and creating a shared vision for the future of your relationship. The couples retreat is set in the Texas Hill Country and is a great space to unplug and get away for the day.