February is the month in which everyone celebrates love, but we don’t really celebrate Valentine’s Day in our household. It’s not that we have a problem with it – we don’t. It’s just not in our nature to feel the need to celebrate our love for one another on a very specific day because someone told us to do it that way. We’re more of a celebrate our love everyday kind of couple, and Valentine’s Day is a fun way to celebrate something sweet with our little ones.
In our house, Valentine’s Day means celebrating the kids. Craig always sends me flowers – even though we have 3-4 bouquets of fresh flower in our home at all times – and we exchange cute cards (and I like chocolate, and I will never turn that down, Raiford…hint, hint). But our day is mostly about being sweet to the kids. Celebrating love with them.
What I love is the little things that happen everyday in our marriage. Those are the moments I like to celebrate every day. It’s the little things my husband does that make me feel the most loved. It’s that he gets all four kids out of bed, makes their breakfast, packs their lunches, and gets them ready for school every morning. He knows that when I’m most productive and motivated and creative, and he wants me to have the chance to utilize that time in my office.
It’s that he is right there next to me at bedtime every night to read to the kids, tuck them in, kiss them goodnight, and all that. It’s that he does 90% of the laundry in our house, and that he cooks dinner. It’s that he loves to spend time with the kids and he’s 100% involved in their lives. It’s that he never tries to take the hot water from me when we’re in the shower – he waits for me to decide I don’t need all the hot water and space and share with him. It’s that he tells me he loves me like 87 times a day both verbally and through his actions.
It’s the little things. And I have 28 little things you can do every day this month to show your love through your own actions. It’s simple, it’s amazing, and it has the potential to change your life if you make acts of service like this a habit every day.
- Say thank you for the little things rather than taking them for granted. Thank your spouse for taking out the trash or changing the baby’s diaper. Thank him for standing when you excuse yourself from the table, or thank her for always making sure you have your favorite breakfast item in the house.
- Turn off your phones and spend time together every night.
- Go to bed at the same time every night.
- Take a family walk and really pay attention when your spouse talks to you.
- Surprise him or her with their favorite treat the next time you’re out.
- Let him or her sleep in while you get up with the kids one morning.
- Offer to do something he or she usually does so they can relax or at least have a little less on their plate.
- Cook dinner.
- Plan a date night.
- Bring home grocery store flowers (I don’t know what it is about grocery store flowers picked up in a moment of, “Those are pretty, and my wife would love those,” that I love so much more than a flower delivery, but it’s special).
- Pick up a card and write a sweet note in it for your spouse.
- Make the bed for your spouse if he or she is usually the one who does that.
- Make a donation in your spouse’s name to a cause that’s important to him or her.
- Get away for the weekend.
- Make breakfast together on the weekends.
- Do that one thing he or she mentioned they’d love to do or wish they had more time to do and surprise them.
- Offer a massage to your spouse.
- Don’t have a headache (the more you say yes, the more you want to say yes and the more intimate time you spend together, and the closer you become).
- Give him or her a break when you’re in a bad mood instead of snapping or being short.
- Come up with something fun that’s not typical and do it together.
- Clean out his or her car.
- Tag team things one of you usually does alone to make it faster and easier.
- Choose to laugh more often than you choose to have any other response.
- Send the kids to the grandparent’s for a night alone in your very own home, where you sleep the best, where you enjoy your coffee the most, and where you can both relax and really enjoy one another.
- Make your spouse’s coffee in the morning.
- Bring home donuts.
- Ask if there is any way you can help him or her make their live easier on a daily basis.
- Never miss a moment to smack one another on the ass when you walk by (that is what marriage is for, right?)
And the bonus – just be a nicer person in general. Everyone loves a nice person, and what better way to celebrate your love for someone than just being a nice person? I like it.
What do you do to celebrate your love for one another on a daily basis?
Tiffany Raiford 