Question 3

1.       A section that I found most meaningful this week was to “Make Daily Choices That Enhance Intimacy.” I find that a lot of people who are in long term relationships or have been in marriages for a long time either remark on the fact they are “happily in love” or have “fallen out of love”—mostly due to the excuse “we are no longer sexually there” or “he/she doesn’t act the same way” or what have you. I think that these are all excuses and it is their own fault; it is us that “choose who we will be and what kind of relationship we will fashion” (Woods, 318). Whether you have a busy schedule due to work or children, never get comfortable with neglecting your spouse or loved one. It is our responsibility to maintain a loving and healthy relationship, regardless of who it may be—it takes two. Woods could not say it any better but that “intimate partners choose to sustain closeness or let it wither, to build defensive  or supportive climates, to rely on destructive or constructive communication to deal with conflict, to fulfill or betray trust, and enhance or diminish each other’s self-concepts” (Woods, 318). Think of one thing you like your partner does on a daily basis, whether it’s bringing you your coffee in the morning to remembering your favorite treat and buying it at the store for you. These things are considered the little things, and in most relationships these occur in the beginning stages, but why do we let them fade? That is our fault if that happened. Make this a continuing effort, and create more of them—more likes and more memories. These are the little things we long for and should continue to want to do for our loved ones to sustain an intimate relationship. So quit making excuses and start making choices that will continue to enhance the quality of your relationship now.