There is an old saying that familiarity breeds contempt.
If that is true, you would think that marriage could only end in animosity because there is nothing left to the imagination after many years have passed.
For those who are imaginative and are looking for ways to make life exciting, marriage can literally be new every day, but it takes a great deal of work and determination.
People deal with life in many different ways.
Some are predisposed to being positive and always looking for the brightness of possibility to shine through any difficulty.
There are others who are always looking for difficulty in the happiest events in life.
You have met both of these people, and you are probably one or the other.
For those with a less positive outlook, marriage is going to be more of a challenge simply because you tend to react and think negatively.
However, that certainly does not mean you are doomed to a marriage breakup no matter what you do.
You too can learn to be positive and believe the best in difficult situations.
No matter what kind of personality you have, keeping your marriage fresh is a decision you are going to have to make on your own whether your spouse chooses to join you or not.
The nice thing is that unless your spouse is a complete nitwit, which you probably would not have married him or her in the first place if they were, their response will begin to align with your efforts if you will stay with it.
One of the very best ways to keep a marriage fresh is to welcome and devise the unexpected.
When was the last time you prepared a nice meal and had candlelight in the middle of the week? How long has it been since you took your wife out to a nice restaurant on a Tuesday? Most women love surprise gifts.
It is one thing to buy a nice gift when it is her birthday or at Christmas time, it is quite another to bring her something special on April 9th.
Calling your spouse in the middle of the day just to say hi is always nice.
Sitting down with your spouse to genuinely listen to the events and frustrations of the day can be a moving experience.
Any father who offers to take care of the children so that their mother can go out to a movie with friends, especially on the weekend, will make great steps toward freshness in their marriage.
For good reason, most women think that anything their husbands do that is out of the ordinary will ultimately lead to sex.
Doing the unpredictable and proving sex was not the motive is a good step husbands can make to bring a newness to their marriage and help avoid a marriage breakup.
If two people who love each other will use their imagination and think differently than they normally do, their marriage can be like a dating relationship that is filled with excitement and longing.
Who would not want to have a marriage like that?