How to stay married when you’re cooped up during a storm


Cabin fever is bad enough on its own, but when you are stuck at home with your partner during a storm – well, divorce (or worse) might seem inevitable! Of course, you love them, and at the beginning of your relationship, a few days stuck in a house alone would have been bliss but now, not so much! So how can you ride out the storm, while remaining sane by the end of it?

Get yourself room service

Food solves everything, and the only way you are going to survive this storm with your sanity and marriage intact is by making the most of it. Cook up a feast that you wouldn’t usually have (forget the diet, calories don’t count in a storm!) and eat it in bed in your pajamas and a robe. Take it in turns to make a meal, and treat your partner to breakfast in bed, like you did when you were first dating.

Use the opportunity for a digital detox

Sure, you probably just want to sit on Reddit and wait for the storm to pass, but that is likely to make you feel bored and grouchy eventually. Make a pact to put away your electronics, for a few hours at least, and focus on each other. Make it feel like a special date. Put some music on, light some candles, maybe just chat – whatever it takes to remind yourselves that there is more to life than the internet. Doing something a little different is likely to release oxytocin so you will be feeling good too!

Get organized

Chances are you’ve been putting off sorting out that cupboard under the stairs for months. Well, there is no better time than now! Divide and conquer and get your house looking fresh. If you’ve got pictures to hang up, it’s time to get around to doing it. Move your furniture around, do a deep clean, throw away anything that is out of date in your kitchen cupboards. It’s not the most exciting way to spend a day, but you will feel so proud of yourselves by the end of it, and your house will look great.

Start your taxes

So this isn’t a fun activity, but it is a necessary one. If you are going to be stuck inside anyway, get a start on your taxes, so that come April, you can get out and do something fun together while everyone else is stuck indoors, cramming their tax work. You are likely to feel a lot less stressed doing it now too, as the smugness of being ahead of the game will help!

Just be lazy

On the flip side, if you are usually both super busy, always being productive and working all the hours under the sun, why not let yourselves be lazy. Think of this as a bonus Sunday, where there is no pressure to do anything at all. Cuddle, and talk, or watch something that you have been meaning to watch for a while (yes, you can dig the electronics back out for that!). Talk, make fun plans for the future and just enjoy each others’ company.

If you really are struggling to make the most of the time cooped up in the house, it is okay to head to separate rooms and do your own thing. It’s probably healthy for at least an hour or two to give each other space – even the best of friends would start to feel a bit stressed if they were together 24/7! Don’t forget, like all things, the storm will pass, and you will finally get to go outside again – phew!

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