This month’s positive point with a couple happened with my husband and me! At the end of this past February, my husband and I drove across the country to visit our son, daughter-in-law, and 15-month-old grandson. It took us 6 days to get there and 5 days to get home. So, we had 11 days in a car together!
To make sure boredom did not ensue, we had a couple of books on tape, music, of course, and our little doggie to entertain. But, more importantly, we had plenty of time to talk to each other!
I don’t know about you, but sometimes when my husband and I are in the car, we have the radio going or the person who isn’t driving is occupied with a phone, and we find we don’t converse that much.
What this trip taught us is that we need to make more space for talking when we drive somewhere together. On our trip to California, we talked about all kinds of things: ideas for our upcoming 40th anniversary celebration, how to balance time between our grandson, son, and daughter-in-law and time doing other things while visiting, our phobias (prompted by my husband driving over a bridge with a low railing, triggering his fear of heights), as well as many other subjects we don’t frequently discuss.
The lesson for us driving so far together came from our realization that we actually have a “car relationship,” identified as time together in a moving vehicle that can be maximized to its fullest potential! Think about your time with your mate in your car. Start to notice what kinds, if any, interactions occur while you are together driving somewhere. It might surprise you that you have space for more conversation. Don’t get me wrong. Peace and quiet in a car can be a gift, just so long as it is balanced with some interactions.
If you are looking for ways to start the conversations in your relationship but are running into roadblocks, get in touch, and we can talk about some strategies.
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