Polish Off the Tarnish on Your Marriage with TLC

When my grandmother passed away, I inherited her china and silver.

I recalled its glory days of Thanksgivings and Christmas’ when my grandmother’s silver literally reflected the spirit of the holidays.

Sadly, due to years of neglect, the silver was badly tarnished. As I contemplated the best way to restore its inherent luster,  I wondered…

When did it begin to lose its polish?
Why had the tarnish been allowed?
How had it gone unnoticed?

Over time, relationships can also tarnish through neglect. 

Relationships can lose their luster, and some even downright rust. You may not even notice your relationship’s tarnish at first. After all, these things can happen gradually over time when there are no preventative measures taken. The key to preventing it is regular maintenance – polishing your relationships with a little tender, love, and care (TLC). TLC burnishes, and if used liberally, it can help maintain a beautifully gleaming relationship.

TLC comes in a number of forms. My personal favorite TLC burnish is that of touch and connecting. There is an endless list of ways to show this TLC and each person may show it in different way. Hand holding, a gentle kiss, random texts, notes under his pillow, and a “thank you” with a wink all help to restore the luster to a marriage. Experiment with different TLC burnishes until you find the ones that really scrub away the tarnish and add the sparkle and shine back.

Even relationships beyond those with our mates can become dull and tarnished. Help them keep their luster with regular maintenance also. With my kids, the simple act of eating dinner together and showing interest in their day can be like polish. With a friend, it may be monthly coffee chats or getting a phone call just to see how you’re doing.

Take a few minutes to think of areas in your relationships which appear tarnished. 

Has the communication in your marriage been watered down to mere household business? Is the intimacy lacking these days? Are the flames of love weakening into more of a match light?

As with precious sterling silver, regular attention must be paid to relationships to retain their natural brilliance. It’s much easier (and healthier) to keep them in great shape than to have to fight away dingy tarnish. It’s tempting to toss out tarnished goods and it’s tempting to call it quits on worn out relationships. But, it’s so worth it to restore things. Why else would antiques carry such worth? Because we know how valuable something is that’s been poured into, protected, worked upon, and kept in pristine condition.

I ask you, my friend,

What areas of your relationship are tarnished?
What personal TLC touches can you apply to restore its sparkle?
And what can you do TODAY?

Happy polishing,