In four days our country will celebrate it’s 250th birthday. I am old enough that our 200th birthday doesn’t seem all that long ago – but I digress. This Fourth of July will be a special one and people will celebrate in all kinds of ways – with parades, back-yard bar-be-ques, re-enactments of historical events, and the list goes on.
Just as there will be a variety of celebration – so too are occasions that couples celebrate. There are birthdays, anniversaries, national and religious holidays, graduations, and many more. Sometimes the way couples celebrate can be unique. I had a client a number of years ago who didn’t understand why his wife got upset because he didn’t acknowledge her birthday. Apparently, in his family of origin, everyone planned his or her own birthday party. If you didn’t want one, then you didn’t plan it. So, with that as the back drop, it is easy to understand her feelings of being ignored, while he just thought she didn’t want to mark the occasion.
Are celebrations important to you? Are they important to your spouse? How do you decide which dates to celebrate? And how do you celebrate – with great fanfare or quiet and unremarkable?
Whether you are big on celebrations or not, the real key is – what does your mate respond to? Making it a point to celebrate those days that are important to your partner, can add a new level of appreciation – which can ultimately add to the deepening of your relationship. And that, all by itself, is something worth celebrating!