Keeping the fire lit in a marriage can be a struggle when our lives are so busy. It’s easy to fall in a rut and anyone who has been married or with their mate for years, often get asked, “How did you make it work all these years?” the first key word in that question is “work”. Any relationship is work, you have to know when to hold Em’ and know when to fold Em’.

My husband and I have been together since we were teenagers, we had children young, went through times when we didn’t have money to go away on vacation but found ways to be creative to rekindle the flame.

Think you can’t have a fun mini romantic getaway at a cheap hotel for one night? If you think that, you’re wrong.

Find a cheap hotel, even a couple towns over from where you live. Check in early and go explore the town, hold hands while walking, and enjoy each others company. Don’t forget to pack lingerie or find a lingerie shop and pick something out together for the night.

Planning weekend getaways recharges a relationship with little planning involved.

There are places to go together that all you need to do is add the two of you. Hawaii for example, gives a whole new meaning to love in paradise. We didn’t have a care in the world. My husband would laugh because every night just before sunset, I would say, “let’s GO!” Off we would go to see the sunset. He didn’t want to admit it, but I knew he loved it just as much as me because he would wrap his arms around me. It took one minute for the sun to sink into the horizon but we felt like we were the only ones there watching and the world was ours.

This past weekend we went to Syracuse (for work) and the two of us made it our play scape. One night I dressed up and we walked around the lobby with him taking pictures of me. Silly, sexy, fun, serious, I let him be the photographer and he was loving every minute. As we drove around taking in the sites we laughed at my expense because I couldn’t pronounce half the cities. Made a stop at Victoria Secrets, had a romantic dinner and made a mini vacation away before and after I worked. There are always ways to rekindle!

Make sure no matter where you go, you have fun, laugh, be a teen couple again. Dance when nobody is dancing, try new things, build a sand castle, walk in the rain and jump in a puddle, have a snowball fight, most of all don’t be shy to let everyone around you know that you love the person you’re with.

There’s a reason we laugh at marriage jokes and quotes- Here’s a couple of my favorite!

I married Mrs Right, I just didn’t know her first name was always!

My wife and I were happy for twenty years. Then we met.
– Rodney Dangerfield

Marriage is a wonderful institution, but who wants to live in an institution?
– Groucho Marx

My wife suggested a book for me to read to enhance our relationship. It’s titled, “Women are from Venus, Men are Wrong.”