Our Coupletime Group (a small group of couples who meet once a month to work on our marriages) is reading a book on the retirement marriage. After all, many of us in the group are at this stage in our relationship. Others are getting near. Everyone wants to be prepared to make these years some of the best.
David and I have been retired almost five years now so following is some advice we’d give to couples approaching this time in their relationship:
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Work on your marriage long before you reach this juncture in your marriage. We’d suggest, right after your honeymoon. You may think we are kidding. We’re not! One of the best ways is to get into a marriage enrichment group. This is one of the best things we have ever done for our relationship. And now, our children have formed their own groups.
- Discuss your expectations, talk about your feeling, your dreams and your fears.
- Be careful of invading the other’s territory. Talk about how you can help one another without the other feeling like you are trying to take over something that has been sacred space to the other.
- Discuss how much alone time and how much togetherness you need as individuals and as a couple.
- Talk about finances and what adjustments you need to make.
- Find new things to do as a couple.
These are just a few ideas. If you have more, we’d love to hear from you.
Grace and peace,
Penny and David