Moving, Homeschooling & Renovating: Allison & Arjan Reflect
“You don’t need to know how it’s going to unfold. You just need to take the first step.”
— Allison Villa
In this episode we are continuing the Couple’s Sandbox Spotlight Series, but for this special episode, I invited my husband Arjan to join me! We share some insight into where our relationship is today.
If you’re a couple that has experienced a significant lifestyle change this year like a move to a new location, switching to homeschooling, or completing a reno, then this episode is for you.
Arjan shares that in the past year we’ve had a lot of external factors that have impacted our relationship, including homeschooling our two daughters, ages 7 and 9, renovating our River House, and the day-to-day struggles which (let’s be honest) often take precedence over our relationship.
These lifestyle shifts take a lot of time and energy, and add greatly to our mental load as a couple. We were both surprised by our results from the Relationship Season quiz. We each took the quiz separately and the results gave us a lot to talk about!
In this interview, Arjan and I talk about some of the challenges we’ve had recently, and how our foundation of self-care, communication, and trust, has helped us move through those challenges together.
In this episode of Couplehood, you’ll discover:
How a strong foundation can keep you connected as a couple, even in times of change
The importance of your relationship within your family unit - remembering that what happens within your couple filters down to your kids
How self-compassion can bring more patience to everyone in your life
“When you have the foundations of emotional trust and solid communication, you can still feel deeply connected as a couple despite going through hard things. ”
— Allison Villa
Highlights:
00:40 Meet Arjan
02:46 What relationship season are we in?
04:51 The importance of couple time
06:51 Being in limbo
07:30 Connected
10:00 The learning curve
14:44 Practicing words of affirmation
18:10 Letting go of control
19:28 Finding self compassion
20:03 Keeping our vision in mind
22:20 Gratitude
Links:
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