2. Some fights are just fights. They don’t have to be deal breakers. You can be madly in love with a person and still be mad at that person. Fights don’t have to spell The End. Couples that stay together choose the relationship over the conflict.
3. Accept that relationships come with obligations. You might not want to do everything your partner wants you to do with him — work events, seeing a band he likes, even errands — but you also know it makes him happy to have you by his side, which makes doing those things totally worth it.
4. But be honest about which events you feel strongly that your partner attend. Not everything can be a must. He knows to tell you that it’s really important you attend Passover seder every year but will live if you decline an invite to his friend’s Super Bowl party. You’re both fair about it.
5. Little surprise purchases go a long way. Does your partner love mint chocolate chip ice cream? Picking some up while you’re at the store shows you were thinking of him even while going about your boring everyday chores like restocking the milk.
6. Kiss hello before doing anything else when you get home. Kiss good-bye when you leave. It’s always just the sweetest if he has to go to work extra-early but stops by to kiss you quickly while trying not to wake you. Or when he walks you to the door when you head out. And an immediate kiss when you reunite at the end of the day means you care about each other above all else.
7. Treat his family like yours. They love to know you think of them as family. And your partner will love to see you treat them like your own family. Call or text from time to time. Hang out with them when your significant other isn’t around.
8. Be sympathetic when your significant other is sick. Maybe it means canceling dinner plans and picking up soup. Maybe it means running to the drugstore for more cough drops. Don’t complain. No one gets sick on purpose, and if the situation were reversed, you know he’d take care of you.
9. Take on more of the errands/household chores when the other one is swamped at work. No, you don’t want to do laundry, but you do it to make your partner’s life easier. And by checking things off your mutual to-do list, you’ll be more likely to do things you actually enjoy together when his schedule frees up. Plus, you’ll have a crazed period at some point too, and it all evens out in the end.
10. Love each other unconditionally. Sometimes it really is just that simple.