William & Kate One Year On.

Like many other couples, I am sure that William and Kate have found themselves thinking, 'Has it been one year already since our wedding?'
Much has been made of that year. ITV are devoting a whole programme to looking back on it and how this young couple, in the most extraordinary of circumstances have coped. Admirably well it seems. They have been described as 'a refreshing and uplifting part of the firm' and Kate gets on very well with her mother-in-law!
 Apart from their connections with 'the firm' they are experiencing much of what other ordinary couples have to contend with. Strange work schedules which mean extended time apart. The ordinariness of home life, the cooking, shopping, sorting that infernal pile of odd socks , washing and so on. 'We haven't got cooks and butlers and cleaners coming out of our ears at home in Anglesey. We cook together. We do the washing up together. We lead a normal life', quotes Tim Ewart in the Radio Times.
 First anniversaries are important. But later ones are more important after the glow of the early days has long faded. (Sometimes however one is apt to forget the date!) One simple key to not forgetting, is to not leave it as a annual occasion. Instead of waiting 12 months make your anniversary a monthly event.
What date was your wedding? Ok, on that date every month plan in a date night. Celebrate not just the
wedding date but your on-going friendship with your spouse. Have fun, eat out, watch a film, play a board game, go to the theater. Enjoy one another regularly beyond the grind, the routine, the shift work, the sometimes down-right hard work of parenting.
There is greater on-going value in the regular monthly date night, than in the once in a while big splash, especially if a couple is struggling in between. And on a daily basis, create a culture of appreciation. A word of encouragement, a compliment, a thank you, a touch. Be intentional about it.