It's easy to fall into a routine that allows your family and marriage to run smoothly. Routines are good and help you to meet the many demands on your life. However, it's important that your "routine" includes intimate time with your spouse.

Intimate time doesn't just equate to sex, it equates to intimate discussions about where your life is now, where you hope it will go and a few dreams thrown in along the way. Ongoing intimacy keeps a relationship strong and improves the physical aspect of your marriage as well.

Intimate times means there are no other demands to distract you from your sweetheart. If you have kids, it means you need to get out at least once a week on a date so you can have these types of conversations.

While you're talking about getting away, don't forget to have an annual get away for a weekend. These marital retreats allow you to be more relaxed and not worry about child invaders in the bedroom, telephone calls, spilled milk, or a myriad of other distractions that stop a romantic moment cold.

Intimate time includes time relaxing together on walks, drives, picnics etc. These times are also a good time to include the rest of the family. It's important to have meaningful family time together and for your children to see a healthy, intimate relationship.

After all, if they don't learn about appropriate intimate relationships from your example, they will have to look to the world. Do you really want them to model the examples they will find on TV, in movies or just next door? These examples may often be an undesirable or poor model of a healthy relationship.

Although you may hear the groans of..."gross"..."get a room"...or "not again!" nothing warms a child's heart more than seeing their parents in love and showing that love. So hold hands, cuddle when you watch the TV, let the kids see a kiss good bye, hello, or just because.

You will find as you have intimate conversations and show tenderness in public, your intimacy in private will be far more fulfilling as well.

So throw out the sex tips book and use the time instead to rediscover the joys of emotional and physical intimacy with your sweetheart. Then you’ll realize that your marriage wasn’t needing a few new moves, it was needing true intimacy.

Beth Young is the Senior Editor of the leading marriage advise web site, MarriageAdvice.com. To download your free ebook titled, "101 Marriage Secrets" visit http://www.MarrigeAdvice.com.

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