Let's talk about "it".

on cultivating the marriage bed like we do our gardens

“I’m not sure how to sleep without you tucked in next to me.” I said to Stuart, speaking the words 5,000 miles away from our home we’ve built. (I’m in Italy. He’s managing the household in my absence.) In our seventeen years of marriage, I can still easily count the amount of nights we have spent apart. This is a gift that I do not take for granted.

Traveling away from home this past week has left me longing for the feeling of his body next to mine.

At night, our bodies know how to sleep, perfectly tucked and cuddled inside one another’s. Eventually, like most, we end up strewn about the bed with arms and legs tangled throughout, but for those first few moments of slipping into bed at night, our bodies are one another’s — to confide in, to warm up next to, to touch, to comfort, to delight.

Yes, I’m taking about physical delight.

This morning, winding through the green hills of Umbria in our rental car, my traveling partner, Sarah, asked me what advice I would give to married couples who were struggling. My advice was simple, and perhaps spoke to the longing of my husband’s affection, but it remains true, nonetheless.

Here would be the best advice I could offer to married couples…

(Sorry Mom and Dad. You may not want to read any further.)