Make Love Last

I was reading the July issue of Glamour magazine last night, and I stumbled across one of the best articles I've read in awhile. It gave hints for how to make love last, and as much as I enjoy a good girly magazine, I don't usually take their advice all that seriously. However, this article was spot on, so I decided to share a few of my favorite hints!

What you should do together...

Once a week:

Fight (a little). Getting your grrs out keeps small annoyances from snowballing. Britain's longest-married couple proves it: together 81 years, Frank and Anita Milford say their secret is "a little argument every day."

Compliment each other . This one's a daily to-do, if you can. There's no nice thing that's too small to mention his excellent taste in music, the way he opens the door for you - it's all worth a verbal love tap. And he will swoon.

Let something go. Argue over the stuff that matters, but once a week let him (and yourself) off the hook for things that don't: yes, he chews his popcorn loud. No, it won't kill you.

Laugh so hard. Laughter is a relationships krazy glue: it bonds you. uninspired? Fast foward to the chest-waxing scene in The 40-year-old Virgin or send him something snortworthy from funnyordie.com.

Once a month:

Be do-gooders. Volunteering together (even just helping a friend move) bonds you because you're ID-ing "common values," says Elizabeth Lombardo, a psychologist in Wexford, Pennsylvania.

Do something scary. Been together awhile? A pounding heart mimics the rush of brand new love, says Patti Wood, an expert on nonverbal communication in Atlanta. Fly in a Balloon or order the sweet-breads for two!

Brag publicly about him: his fearless pursuit of the mouse in your kitchen, the armful of hydrangeas he surprised you with, the raise he landed even in this economy. Surely once a month you can think of something that'll make him blush in front of your friends . He'll probably get you back too .

Declare something "this stays in vegas." A silly nickname, or a crazy mishap. Share something intimate, then pull the couple bubble around you tightly .

Disappear together . Hike somewhere AT&T can't find you (and thus your mother, your boss and his needy friend Bob can't find you either). No woods ? Any time spent totally alone together - a long drive, even - will do the trick .

Disappear alone. We're not advocating game-playing exactly. But in this world of 24/7 availability, it can be good for your relationship to each have some solo time. Afterward, you'll feel recharged, like the free-spirited single girl he fell for once upon a time.

Go to a party! And mingle seperately. It screams confidence and makes the after-party rehash even sweeter.

Once a year:

Get a dog. Or at least a plant. Anything that'll grow with your love.

Say the tough thing. The dark family secret. The crazy career dream. If you can't confess to your significant other, then who? (Hey, you think Barack never said to Michelle way back when, "This may sound nuts, but I think I want to be president someday?"

Cancel valentines day and invent your own lovey-dovey holiday. Lobsterfest 2009 anyone ?

Fall apart. You can't schedule this. But it's important that you each know, via experience, that you can completely, utterly lose your grip - weep over a bad haircut, threaten to leave your job after a nutso day, have a wrenching fight with your mom - and not lose each other .

Don't. Get. Up. At least once a year, break open some bubbly, disable the Wi-Fi and don't get out of bed for the weekend.

Write each other. New Orleans newly wed Rebecca, 32 was inspired by her husbands uncle who writes his wife every Christmas. "One letter maynot seem like much, but after 30 years it's a wonderful record of their lives."

Think back on all the reasons you fell for him. whether you've dated for a year or a decade. Some will be big (his extra-dry sense of humor); some will be small (his love of argyle). Make sure you tell him, and remind yourself. Hello, butterflies! There you are again.

And once a lifetime.

Get lost together in a foreign country.

Damn the cost and go do the dream.

Come back from the bring of a breakup even stronger.

Together, convince a skeptic pall to believe in love.

Have a poor phase. Maybe a rich phase too.

Count the stars. Know your love is one in a billion.