When my husband James and I were engaged, we met with our wedding coordinator at the church. There just happened to be a wedding scheduled to begin while we were there. After our meeting, we were walking out through the lobby. The wedding party was getting ready to begin the procession.
James pushed me over to a side door, pretending he was a spy, and said, “I’ve got the bride in sight. Let’s get ready to roll!” He crouched at the side door and was apparantly having a really good time pretending to be James Bond.
I, on the other hand, was mortified.
Sweetheart, this is not funny. This is someone’s wedding. Let’s leave quietly.”
This of course added fuel to his fire. “Get down,” he whispered to me. “They’re coming!”
I just wanted to turn invisible.
That experience didn’t play out well for either of us. I thought he was an immature guy who was being inappropriate and disrespectful. He thought I was a killjoy. When we finally got to the car, we were silent.
I think this tension exists in many marriages today. Why can’t he be more serious? Or why can’t she be more fun? Or it might be the other way around in your relationship.
When you’re dating, you have tons of fun together. You throw caution to the wind at times and occasionally make fools of yourselves. After being married for awhile, it can be easy to become a little more safe, predictable, and well, boring.
The playfulness that you have when you are first married is priceless. Don’t let anyone tell you that will go away after a few years. Keep those fun behaviors going and you’ll be laughing and loving when you celebrate your 50th wedding anniversary and beyond.
It may sound weird but you can actually learn how to have more fun together as a couple. Just like a great birthday party doesn’t happen automatically (it takes planning and forethought), you can intentionally put more fun into your marriage.
What do you and your spouse like to do for fun? What makes you laugh?
