Tangible Ways to Have Fun with Your Spouse During Quarantine

Tangible ways to have fun with your spouse during quarantine:

-board games or card games

-virtual games with friends & family using zoom or google hangout (check out: The Jackbox Party Pack )
-puzzles
-bake or cook together

-have some drinks (a given for most, I know) and spice it up by wine or beer “tasting” at home
-do a themed dinner and/or movie night
-watch your favorite comedies or look up a comedian online to have a good laugh & lighten the mood

-blindfolded taste testing
-read those books you haven’t had time for (my New Years Resolution for 3+ years)
-go on a walk or jog together
-go for a drive together
-work out in your living room or backyard together
-take a shower or bath (you’d be surprised how good you’ll feel after a full day in your sweats or PJs)
-binge watch all those shows you haven’t had time for
-write cards & notes to mail to loved ones & friends

-call an elder family member to check in on them
-work on a project you two have put off “until you have time”... except maybe something from Ikea. That can probably wait until later.

Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. Make the most of this time and try to shift your perspective by seeing it as a gift to spend extended quality time with your spouse making memories.

Sincerely,

A wife who is currently rocking the heck out of dry shampoo

How to Safeguard your Marriage in the Midst of Quarantine

No, I’m not talking about physically or in a health sense, although staying inside does limit your exposure to the current COVID-19 pandemic. I’m talking the side effects of being bunkered in with your spouse with a limited to do list, possibly no work, hobbies on hold, events postpone, celebrations rescheduled and not being able to leave the house except for essentials. 

This is new to ALL of us. As much as you love your spouse, chances are you haven’t spent THIS much consecutive time together- ever. We have jobs, obligations, commitments, make plans with friends & family... 

Add not only the stress of possibly contracting the corona virus, there’s the stress of not working and bringing in income, therefore not being able to pay bills for a lot of us. Emotions & anxieties are at all time high- a recipe for butting heads in most households. 

We’re all struggling right now. Not one person hasn’t been affected by this pandemic in the world. So how do we safeguard our marriages in the midst of quarantine?

Grace- chances are if you’re a Christian or your elderly grandma is, you’ve heard this word. Before you roll your eyes or click exit on this post, bear with me for a second. What does grace truly mean? And how do you put it into action… especially when you don’t feel like it?

Grace is unmerited and undeserving favor, mercy, justice & kindness. Pretty much everything good we receive, how good we are treated when we don’t deserve it or even things we would deem as “luck” like finding the last package of toilet paper at the grocery store in the midst of a shortage— yes, grace!

So before you allow everything you originally fell in love with about your spouse when you first got married to turn into the things you can’t stand and dare I say, hate— take a deep breath and choose to extend grace to them, in the same way you would hope for when you speak too harshly, make an assumption or say something hurtful out of stress or anger.

Below are some practical ways you can help safeguard your marriage in the midst of quarantine:

-give yourself space (even if that means in the bathroom of your tiny 1 bedroom apartment)

-write down your feelings

-text, call or FaceTime a friend who will be honest with you 

-pray

-go for a walk: get out and move- endorphins are natural mood boosters.

-go for a drive & listen to music that lifts your mood 

-read your Bible 

-give each other time to freely express how they’re feeling without interrupting one another/making faces/sighing/etc

FIRST WEEK OF QUARANTINE…

SECOND WEEK OF QUARANTINE…

All jokes and memes aside— remember, this time is difficult for everyone and is only temporary. Continue to extend grace to one another during this time and you’ll make it out on the other side of this.

Sincerely,

A wife currently in the midst of quarantine with her husband and a stir crazy toddler