Due to being out of town all weekend for an Army-sponsored marriage retreat, I had to wait until today to post last week’s Family Friday post.
What I learned at the marriage retreat has inspired me to write this:
The Do’s and Don’ts of Marriage Retreats
DO go with an open mind and an open heart. It’ll be hard when you learn the cheesy class and movie titles but it is worth it to listen.
DON’T be that guy. If you decide the classes are boring/lame/don’t apply to you, don’t turn into that guy that has to make a wise crack under his breath every five minutes. It’s childish and not amusing. Find something else to occupy your mind or fake a stomach ache and take a really, really really long potty break.
DO take notes. You might feel silly but it’ll help you remember some of the things you learned.
DON’T assume your spouse is not listening. Some people have to fidget and doodle the entire time. It doesn’t mean they aren’t listening. I’m an example of this. If I didn’t stay moving, I would zone out.
DO discuss what you learned and put it into action. If you thought the marriage retreat concept was silly or your spouse thought it was, you might feel like a dork to bring it up but bring it up anyway. You might be surprised that your spouse wants to talk about it too.
I learned that marriage retreat classes are a lot like high school classes. You’ll have the over achieving couples with their hands in the air, the couple that can’t keep their hands off each other, the couples that would rather be anywhere but there, and the couples that stay low profile and avoid eye contact. (That last one is me. I kept my eyes firmly planted on my paper the entire time). It can help your marriage even if you think your marriage is already pretty awesome. Trust me, this time last week all I could think about was “Woohoo, free trip to the beach. Sucks that I’ve got to spend it in marriage classes” but now I’m really glad I went even if I only spent a grand total of twenty minutes on the beach.
Have you ever been on a marriage retreat?
52 Weeks Photos
I was really hoping to come back with some beautiful pictures of my children playing on the beach but two things happened: It rained almost the whole weekend and their suitcase was forgotten at home. I’m very particular about the boys’ clothes when it comes to pictures so I didn’t bother pushing for the photographs I was hoping for. So this weeks photos for the 52 Week project is from Sunday afternoon’s trip to Broadway at the Beach.
If you’re military, don’t forget to ask for your discount with Ripley. 75% off! My family of four visited the aquarium for less than the price of one regular price ticket! I <3 the Ripley company!
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