To maintain a relationship, it's essential to inject freshness and vitality from time to time. Here are a few simple arrangements I often use, and they've proven quite effective. I hope they'll be helpful to you.
To escape the daily grind of being together every day, each person gets one day off a month, and they can each plan their own activities without interfering with or disturbing each other.
On this day, you don't need to accommodate the other person. You can plan things you like, such as having dinner with an old classmate, watching a favorite movie, or shopping at a famous store. Let go of your worries about the people around you and focus on other things.
Although we were separated for a day, when we got together again later, we had more to talk about and valued the time we spent together even more.
Of course, this arrangement is based on mutual trust; otherwise, it will only have the opposite effect.
Occasionally, on a weekend, we'll each choose a restaurant that none of us have ever been to before and enjoy lunch and dinner together. It sounds simple, but choosing a restaurant that we both like from tens of thousands of eateries in the city is not easy.
Traveling to a new region and trying new dishes in a new environment is an adventurous experience that can sometimes bring new surprises, but may also leave you disappointed.
In any case, this allows one to escape the familiar cafeteria meals, and also provides an opportunity for discussion and evaluation, increasing mutual understanding and adding some fun to the weekend.
Every weekend doesn't have to be spent shopping or watching movies; nor does every night need to be spent at home watching TV or DVDs. A relationship can have a lot of space. For example, you could attend a jazz festival together, stroll through the Tai Po market, research the history of Tai Ping Shan Street, learn board games, or dance ballroom dances; or you could practice bowling together, learn to make soft-hearted cakes, or stir-fried beef noodles…
There are countless interesting things around us, and some of them are sure to attract your attention. As long as we all approach them with curiosity and explore and participate together, we can gradually add little by little experiences to each other's lives.
