Rekindling Connection: Combatting Screen Time in Relationships
What do you do when you've discovered that your relationship with your partner is deteriorating because you spend too much time online or watching television?
My husband and I have developed some bad habits regarding spending quality time together.
He sits in his favorite chair watching Youtube videos, and I spend a lot of time watching television series in the other room that's about 4 feet away.
We are technically in the same vicinity, but we are immersed in different screens.
We decided this habit of sharing space but not sharing time together has to stop.
We have some good friends that eat together every night at their table and often play games with each other at night.
They have a wide variety of card games, as well as dominoes.
About once a month, we all get together depending on our schedules and play a game together and always enjoy it.
But why don't we do it when it is just the two of us?
This afternoon, I went to Michael's and bought two paint-by-number sets--mountains for him and a desert scene for me.
Shayne went into the storage room and got a long card table and we set it up next to our dining room table so we can paint together.
He's not artistically trained at all. But anyone can do a paint-by-number and I think we will enjoy listening to some chill music and seeing what happens.
We have set up a portion of our living room as an area where we can do some fun activities together, as well as eat dinner at the table, too.
He found a pack of cards, and we played a few hours of Gin Rummy tonight at the dining room table.
We laughed and talked about our childhood, and really connected.
We've been together for 30 years, and it's surprising how time apart can creep into a relationship even though you live together.
We got up this morning and had a nice, long walk together. We found a bench in the woods where we like to walk, and laid down on our backs and watched the sky and trees. We had a lovely 30 minutes on that bench just hanging out.
Next week, we are going to do what we can to start fishing in the river next to our home, too.
Relationships take work. Even the ones where you think the work has already been done.
It's never really done, is it?
Random fact about me: I'm a devoted neighborhood bird watcher.