The Love Dare Part 3

This took a really long time! Kiohud has been gone working a lot these days but FINALLY here we go:

A continuation to The Love Dare Part 1 and The Love Dare Part 2, here is how days 11-15 went... :)




Day 11: Love Cherishes- What need does your spouse have that you could meet today? Can you run and errand? Help With housework? Chose a gesture that says I cherish you and do it with a smile. Well, I have to admit this took me almost all week to accomplish! I am running low on "good deeds here" (If any of you have suggestions by all means help me out! Anyways, what I finally did was Kiohud brought home his list for groceries for the fire station and I went out and bought everything for him. Again, no big deal I did go out of my way to go shopping but I love getting out so it didn't take much effort on my part. Kiohud HATES shopping so I thought this would make his life easier and save him some time.

Day 12: Love lets the other win- Demonstrate love by willingly choosing to give into an area of disagreement between you and your spouse. Tell them you are putting their preference first. Well, this day I have not yet been able to accomplish. Kiohud and I rarely disagree, if you read The Story of US you know that we fought way too much in our early years and pretty much got it out of our systems. Plus Kiohud is gone enough that we both have our personal space and miss each other when he is gone and are happy to see each other when he is home so we fight less. So I am saving this for one day when we do disagree over something...


Day 13: Love Fights Fair- Talk with your spouse about establishing healthy rules of engagement. Here is what we came up with:
1. "No touching of the hair or face."
2. No mention of divorce.
3. No arguing or putting each other down in front of anyone especially our children.
4. Respect each other's answers.
5. No yelling.

Day 14: Love Takes Delight- Purposely neglect an activity that you would normally do and spent time with your spouse. Just be together. After the kids go to bed I "catch up" on anything that needs to be done. One night I should have been putting laundry away instead I went downstairs and hung out with Kiohud in the man cave instead. I usually do this anyways but this time I went in a little earlier so that we could "hang out". I'm not sure if he appreciated this or not since he likes working in there undistracted, but I tried.

Day 15: Chose a way to show honor and respect to your spouse that is above your normal routine. Show your spouse that he is highly esteemed in your eyes. Ok, so this chapter actually hit me pretty hard. I was convicted as soon as they said focus on what your spouse is saying. I always listen but I don't always focus, I am usually working or typing away while I talk to anyone. What I am trying really hard to do is when Kiohud talks to me I stop typing and look at him so that he is my main focus not my work! You might think this is no big deal but I am ALWAYS on my computer, even if my "working hours" are over my laptop is open on the counter.


So this week was a little harder mostly because Kiohud was gone but also because on days where I am supposed to do something nice, I am running out of ideas! It is sad though when I realize how little we focus on our spouse. I probably would not have done many of these things if the book hadn't told me too! I really feel like all of this focus is strengthening our relationship. As for Kiohud's progress well, if he ever starts I will let you know. He did redeem himself on my birthday with a very awesome IPad ( my not so subtle hints helped) and an AMAZING dinner and my favorite spot The Melting Pot. Thank You Kiohud!


On a totally different note: Have you noticed all of the Amazon links on my site? Well, in case you haven't figured it out my new affiliate is Amazon! First giveaway will be held on March 17 via Random.org and will be for your choice of a Kate Spade IPhone 4 case (black and white Polka dots) valued at $48 or Urbanerars Medis Ear Buds valued at $50. I will try to post some pics soon! To be included in this drawing become a "Member" by clicking on the Join this Site tab on the top left. Thank you Amazon for helping make this possible! Good Luck my friends! :)