A Romantic Homecoming

Okay, my wife came home yesterday, so it's time to wrap up my mini-series on long distance romance. But, like everything else in marriage, we want to wrap it up romantically.

Okay, so when your wife comes home, how do you greet her? Obviously, it should be something romantic. Of course, the details of the romantic act depend a lot on how she traveled and what time of the day she gets home. However, there are a few basics that will work, no matter how she traveled or what time she gets home from her trip.

First of all, this is one of those good times to fall back on one of the old standards and have flowers on hand. If you’ve got to pick her up at the airport, make sure you’ve got a bouquet in your hands. If she’s coming directly to the house, have it waiting in a vase. Either way, seeing a bouquet of flowers when she comes in the door is much nicer than seeing a sink full of dirty dishes.

The second important ingredient is having a nice meal ready for her. I don’t know about you, but when I get in the door from a trip, I’m always hungry. That could have something to do with the crummy airline meals and the high prices in airports. Nevertheless, I’m pretty much always ready for a meal when I get home, regardless of the hour.

If you don’t know how to cook, don’t use that as an excuse. You can always do takeout, grab a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket deli, or grab a pizza. Just make sure it’s ready, reasonably hot and something that she likes. It kind of ruins the romance effect when you give her a meal that she doesn’t like.

Finally, be available to her. She’s going to want to talk about her trip. Make sure you’ve got the time to sit there and listen to her. Let her tell you about what happened; the good, the bad and even the ugly. She wants to share her life with you, and that’s her way of doing so.

One other important detail. She’s probably going to be tired when she gets home. Now, I know you’ve been waiting for her, so that you could jump into bed together. However, there’s a very real chance that she’s going to be too tired for that. As hard as it may seem, let lovemaking be her decision; don’t pressure her. If you give her the time to get some rest, she’ll be much more available to you the next night, and she’ll have the energy to do something besides just lay there. 

Dinner by Candlelight

You know, it’s amazing how much socializing is one over food. I mean, if you think about it, getting together with family or friends or even going out on a date generally means that somewhere in all that, we’re going to eat together. Sharing food sets the stage for more conversation than just about anything else that I can think of.

One of the classic romantic acts is to go somewhere for a candlelight dinner together. I’m not really sure why candlelight makes it more romantic, but it does. Perhaps it has something to do with the low light, or the fact that candles flicker, bringing movement to whatever their light touches. Regardless of the reason, it is more romantic, even if that’s just because everyone thinks it’s romantic, so it is definitely something to take advantage of.

What could be more romantic than a candlelight dinner for two? How about a candlelight dinner that you prepare for her? That is, one that you cook yourself. Now, before you start freaking out, cooking really isn’t all that hard. All you have to do is follow the recipe in the book.

Actually, instead of following a recipe, just cook something that you know how to cook. It’s not as much about what you cook as it is that you cooked it for her. The idea that you took the time to prepare a special meal to share with her will definitely be something to catch her attention. The candlelight setting will just be the icing on the cake.

Everyone likes it when another person goes out of their way to do something special for them. So, why should we think that our wives are any different? Do you like it when your wife prepares a special meal for you? Well, why wouldn’t she like it if you prepared a special meal for her?

Of course, this will have the most impact if you manage to surprise her with it. If she’s expecting it, that’s one thing, but if she comes home to find that you’ve prepared her a special meal, to be served by candlelight, it’s going to be even that much more special. Oh, and don’t forget to send the kids off somewhere, so that they’re not in the middle of your romantic meal. 

Another Mother’s Day

Okay, so you did your duty, right? Yesterday was Mother’s Day, so you bought your wife some flowers, maybe a card and took her out to eat. It’s done, so now things can get back to normal, right? Okay, so they can get back to normal, but that’s not going to help you be romantic towards your life or build up your marriage. You don’t get any points for normal.

There’s an easy way to solve this problem; all you need to do is not let things get back to normal. Who wants normal anyway? It’s boring and it’s usually not all that loving. So, how can we keep things from getting back to normal? Simple, just have another Mother’s Day.

Yep, that’s what I said. Who ever said that we can only celebrate Mother’s Day once a year? Who ever said that you can’t treat your wife special every day? Who ever said that she can’t be treated special more than one day per year?

So, all you have to do is do everything again. Granted, you should mix it up a bit. If you bought her flowers yesterday, don’t buy them again today, buy her something else. Don’t go to the same restaurant, or maybe fix her a special dinner at home, instead. Don’t make it a copy of yesterday; just make it another day to celebrate her.

Get the kids involved too. After all, she’s their mother. They’ll probably get a kick out of surprising mom. That way, it’s more complete. Do the whole bit, starting with breakfast in bed and finishing by washing up the dishes, so that she doesn’t have to.

What? You say that it’s too late? You can’t serve her breakfast in bed, because you’ve already eaten? No problem, you’ve got six more days this week; pick one of them to be your second Mother’s Day. It doesn’t matter which one, just that you have one. After all, she’s special every day, isn’t she?