Recipe for a Delightful Marriage: PLAY

There is no doubt about it: having fun being playful together has always been a key ingredient to keeping my own marriage delightful and strong. My wife and I have a blast together! Yes, as these images illustrate, we definitely enjoy playing a variety of board, card, dice, and tile games together. And there have been times where the regular rhythm of playing games together has even directly motivated us to work out a fight or communication roadblock with each other more quickly and effectively. We were ready to play Phase 10 or Skip-Bo or Mancala or Yahtzee or whatever was the game du jour, and didn’t want our squabble to steal our playtime together! For real. 

And while playing actual games together is a great way to have fun and keep your marriage relationship vibrant, it is definitely not the only way. There are so many ways my lovely bride and I play and laugh and enjoy life together. From enjoying our own shared “language” of favorite movie quotes and talking about characters and dynamics from TV series as if we are really part of the show to joking and cracking up about our own goofy quirks and foibles or simultaneously competing with each other and cheering for each other on our little daily games on our phones. We do more than rely on one another. We cut up and play and laugh and share delight with one another – sometimes in the midst of hardship and struggle. If you and your spouse aren’t being playful with one another on the regular, please give me a shout so I can help you find your fun together. No marriage is nearly at its best without this wonderful ingredient. Life is a wild ride. You gotta find ways to enjoy the ride with the one strapped into the seat next to you!