While I cannot remember what the individual letters of the E.N.R.I.C.H. marriage seminars stand for, I do recall this tip that I would like to share with you, couple to couple,
make a meeting night
Attending a marriage enrichment series of classes, many years ago, My husband and I learned about a neat concept. We were instructed to make a meeting night, one each week, and set the time, date, and time limit well ahead and write it on the calendar, in your dayplanner, or wherever you keep your schedule. We were not to allow television, telephone, children, or other activities take precedence over this meeting.
During the week, we were to record all the things we really wanted to discuss with our spouse. This was to help "get it off our chests" so to speak, allowing the attached emotions chance to dissipate and also to help you to remember them but not have to dwell on them.
The intent behind a weekly meeting is simple, really. You know you will be respected and honoured at the meeting and met with a listening ear. Your husband can rest assured that he will not be overly taxed with seemingly overwhelming information or problems randomly (or constantly!) throughout the week. I know it helped tremendously with all the homeschool issues that came up in the week, like curriculum glitches or discipline issues that just weren't working etc.
One of the most difficult parts of the series, for me, was the practice sessions we also did where we were instructed to sit, facing our spouse, and simply listen as he spoke. JUST LISTEN. I was not allowed to interrupt at all, and after each sentence I needed to say back to my husband what it was I thought he had just said. It was hard to hear back from him how "off" I was sometimes, but an excellent lesson in truly listening to someone else's heart.
Kristina Campbell is a homeschooling Mom of two boys, ages 12 and 10. She has a B.A. in English, loves to write music and create art with her husband of thirteen years. She has published some of her poetry and is currently finishing a study guide for the novel Cheaper by the Dozen. You can visit her blog http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/onfire.
Related Tags: homeschool, tip, marriage, enrich, listening
