I want to share something we experienced this weekend because I think it’s relevant for just about everyone.

I will first start by saying we do not consider ourselves the “Happy Healthy Couple” because we are by any stretch of the imagination “perfect” or without issue. We consider ourselves (and really anyone who strives for the same) to be a happy healthy couple because when we have those typical inevitable “issues” we have made a commitment to each other and our relationship to not only work through them but to do it in a kind thoughtful manner to each other. Now to the issue:

The Problem: TECHNOLOGY! We all get caught up in our technology! We don’t even realize it but we end up tuning each other out being wrapped up in this other place, whether it be the TV, internet, gaming etc. An incident like this happened to us this weekend and I have no doubt it’s likely happened to every person reading this article. Sometimes we are the offender and sometimes we are the offended.

The Effect: I know for myself when these things happen I feel like we know that this “offense” isn’t typically intentional. However, it still hurts! Our incident left me feeling ignored and dismissed and that my partner may even be upset with me.

The Fix: The fix here is simple. When these issues arise we need to take a moment, step away and think it through of how to best address the problem. If we blow up in the moment it’s never a positive outcome for anyone. When I had the right moment after the issue I just calmly said, “You know, when I come over and try and interact and love on you, it would be a nice response if you could put the phone down and give some positive reinforcement”. Because my partner is so loving and responsive he was very gracious and quickly apologized. We both agreed that we will work on this so it doesn’t happen to either one of us in the future.

The bottom line is, in this technology world we live in, we have to learn to navigate it in such a way that our real life relationships in front of us still remain the priority. Whatever is on your phone or TV can always be picked back up at a later time. Those moments in life that are missed while we are buried in our phones cannot be re-lived or experienced. So remember to put down the electronics and enjoy what is in front of you!

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