OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW: FIVE TIPS TO HELP YOU FRESHEN UP YOUR CONNECTION

BY LINDSEY BLAIR

Spring is here and there’s an undeniable need to purge…to shed the layers of frigid winter. You crave to start anew. New season cleaning isn’t just reserved for reorganizing a cluttered closet or detailed dusting. According to professional relationship coach, author, and Grief: A Love Story podcaster Tara Caelle, your relationship deserves analogous effort. “It’s just being conscious about where you are instead of blindly walking through the years together and then wondering what happened to the time,” she explained. So, here are some pointers to help you deep clean your knot.

GET RID OF OLD HABITS
Just like you wouldn’t hold on to an old pair of shoes that didn’t fit, the same rings true for your relationship. It’s time to toss out bad behaviors that aren’t working for you and your partner: poor communication, jealousy, and passive aggressiveness to name a few.

DUST OFF DATING DAYS
Remember when you used to make time for each other? Romantic dinners, flirtatious gestures…a special trip? Knock the cobwebs off honeymoon memories and make an effort, and that doesn’t have to mean standard bites and a movie. Get creative; the recent blood red moon put us in mind of stargazing, so perhaps a night picnic…or rent his or her dream car (okay, his) and  find the nearest drive-in (we highly suggest Becky’s Drive-In  theatre in Walnutport, PA, about 2.5 hours due west of the city).

POLISH YOUR ASSETS
Identify the best parts of your relationship, clean them up, put them on
display, and watch as they shine. It’s important to not only focus attention
on what isn’t working, but to make mention of what makes you two a great
couple. And put fresh e ort into your compliments! In my experience, any
sentence that begins with “I’m grateful for,” followed by a thoughtful observation of what I do well, or beautifully, or poetically, is going to bear fruit.

AIR THINGS OUT
On the flip side, it’s also time to lift up the proverbial rug and let it all  fly. Come clean about what has been bothering you. Now is your time to get to the bottom of unresolved issues and move forward with a tidier, more
proactive solution. Start slow, take turns talking, and be quiet and listen (in a social media and smartphone world,that art is more difficult than one might imagine).

EMBRACE NEW ADVENTURES
Once you have cleaned, shined, and spruced up your relationship, you will
have made ample room to set your sights on unchartered goals and plan exciting journeys. Don’t be afraid to shake things up and step outside of your comfort zone. The important thing is that you do it together.

Nicole Spread