Everyone told me the first year of marriage would be the hardest, but that wasn't my experience. Having lived with my husband for two years before we were married, we had some time to work out the merging-our-lives kinks. Looking back on our 14 years together, there have been some clear highs and lows; times when we were closer and times we had to work hard to keep our bond tight. The key to keeping your marriage strong isn't difficult; it starts with noticing the signs your marriage is in a rut and then figuring out how to overcome these roadblocks.
Lots of stressors can add strain to a marriage. Having kids, work, moving, losing someone you love — any of life's significant events can weigh heavily on your relationship with your spouse. But sometimes it's just the everyday minutia that starts to water down the spice your marriage once had. It can sneak up from behind and cause you to look over your shoulder, glancing back at your relationship and making you nostalgic for those days you stayed up until 3 a.m. talking and laughing.
Experiencing a dip in your marriage doesn't mean the thrill is gone forever, it just means you need to call attention to that area of your relationship and get cracking on ways to fix it. If you're noticing any of these 11 common signs of marriage rut, plan to talk with your spouse about bringing back the spice.