Love after Valentine’s Day: Men, we also have to show our romantic side after Feb. 14

Palm Coast Observer
Neighbors

Just as the empty box of Russell Stover’s chocolates will be tossed in the trash can, and the browning dozen roses thrown out, the world’s most famous romantic day will also come — and go.

But men, no matter how successful we make Valentine’s Day, we can’t rest on our laurel of one great effort. Our significant others expect to get charmed throughout the rest of the year.

I have developed a few practices that make my wife, Jessica, smile beyond Valentine’s, and hopefully these will help keep a smile on your wife’s face for the next 11 months.

1. Get on her nerves — in a loving way: No one gets on my wife’s nerves more than I do, but I know she loves it. I love to grammatically correct Jess and stare at her mouth in the midst of our passionate disagreements. No matter how mad she may be, she usually breaks into a smile — most times.

And, when home, she usually spends her time in our room, while I stay in the living area. But, throughout the day, I randomly walk in, give her the googly eyes and just stare at her. She usually asks me to stop looking at her and leave, but of course I pay it no mind. I used to annoy her by calling her “Jess,” but now she likes it. See what I mean?

2. Buy her what she likes: Now this may land me in the dog house, but I have to help my fellow man. Jess loves to eat! Our deal-making usually consists of her doing me a favor for food. I never request anything in return for the things I do, but she tends to get Panda Express or breakfast out of me. Maybe I suck at negotiating. Either way, she gets what she wants, and she loves me more for it.

3. Talk to…well, let her talk to you: Men, we hate talking, right? We get home after a tough day of work, she asks how our day went, and we reply, “Fine.” Of course, that’s not what she was looking for. How do I know? Based on her response to the same question.

When we — acting as if we’re just as concerned —return the question, we get a four-page letter, although we zoom out after the first few sentences.

Men, don’t we have a few trusted responses we often lean on in our moments of cloud nine? “Really?” “Oh wow!” “Are you serious?” Sometimes, Jess usually asks me the infamous, evil question, “What did I just say?”

As hard as it may be, we have to try to listen to them. I always regret not paying attention to Jess, so I make more efforts to lend her a caring, listening ear.

4. Serve together: Lastly, find something you two can do together. Jess helps me serve my church as youth pastor, so we always have a common topic to discuss, and we get to spend a lot of time together.

It doesn’t have to be at a religious function or even serving. Play games. Solve puzzles. Do whatever it takes to spend quality time with each other. This really makes them smile.

Whether you choose these ideas or allow them to inspire other methods, permit your love go beyond Valentine’s Day.