This afternoon I sent Hubs and email that said something like this:
What are you thinking for dinner? Wanna take a long walk tonight?
His response:
Sure. I don’t have anything in mind for dinner.
So I set to work thawing some meat for dinner and got ready to do a quick run before he got home from work so I’d be all ready for our walk.
I’ve finished a run by taking a walk with Hubs after twice now. I think I’ll make it a habit whenever possible.
So I ran a quick 2 miles and met him back at our apartment. We started out walking normally, but as we got going, we eventually got up to about 4 miles an hour. Hubs started to complain a little bit.
“You didn’t warn me this was going to be a vigorous walk.”
“Well, I never said it was going to be a leisurely walk, either.”
The conversation went on from there and we ended up covering about three miles. He didn’t mind too much, I don’t think. Though we were both pretty hungry and thirsty by the end of it. After all, it was about 70 degrees today!
But the ground covered, the miles per hour, and how hungry we were. What matters is the time we spent together.
Even though Hubs says he doesn’t like to go on walks the way I do, I think he understands why they’re important to me, and thus, to us.
We’ve had a lot of serious talks and made a lot of big decisions walking around the neighborhood near our apartment.
Topics include:
How to manage our finances and create a budget.
Where we want to live.
What are our must haves for a house.
Whether we should renew our lease.
What our plan is for buying new cars to replace the old ones we currently drive.
How often to visit our parents and how to divide our time up while we’re there.
Who are real friends are and what they mean to us.
How our family has impacted the way to live and relate to each other.
What our future goals are.
When to start trying to have kids.
How to better control our portions at meals.
What foods we want to eat more of, less of, or try cooking in the future.
How we want to raise our kids and handle parenting issues.
“The bedroom”
How much we can afford to spend each month.
How we can communicate better with each other.
What things make us feel the most connected.
What extra expenses we are willing to splurge on with our “fun money.”
What we’re worried about, excited about or happy about.
I know it might seem silly that we don’t have these discussions as well inside, but there’s just something special, at least for me, about being outside that makes me feel as though my mind works better. Maybe because there’s no ceiling to hold in my imagination or dreams. I’m not sure if that makes sense, but it might not matter, because I’ll probably continue to think that way.
I won’t say it’s made all the difference in our marriage (which is now in it’s 8th month! My how time flies!) but it’s certainly brought us farther along and closer together in this journey together.
What about you? What little habits or traditions make a difference in your relationship? Where’s your favorite place to just be yourself with each other? Or suggestions for topics we should cover on our next walk?
P.S. Sorry there was no “Friday’s Food for Thought last week. I’ll make it up to you, ok?
We always seem to ha ve our best conversations in the car. I think it is because neither of of can “get away” from the other and we have to deal with whatever is said. That may be why we enjoy our “car vacations” so much. We really have quality time and enjoy each other when we are traveling. We also have a lot of good conversations when we are riding around the farm in the truck. It is the beautiful scenery that God has given us that brings out the conversations.
Agreed! Car time is great too! I’ve always heard if you enjoy traveling together you can make it through pretty much anything! Thanks for the comment!
We try to have one on one time as much as we can. Since we’re both working now, we don’t get much of a chance except when we go out with friends. Every now and then though, we hang out, just the two of us. We may not have much to say, but the ability to just be together without a crowd means a lot.
Time out with friends is also important. and it’s important in relationships I think. Watching him interacting with others often reminds me of some of the reasons why I fell in love with him in the first place. Still, alone time is critical too. Thanks for the comment!