Sooner or later while in the early stages of your relationship, you’re likely to want to go away somewhere, sharing time on a holiday break. There’s a lot to look forward to, a time full of excitement and romance. After all, it’s a great chance to step outside the normal day to day routines and make the most to be offered by hotels, fine dining, tourist attractions and all the space of beaches or scenic walks. It can be a fantastic way to spend time together, cementing your relationship, but it can also be a great learning experience for you both about how you are as a couple, and how you work together.
The reason for this is that holidays are a great poser of new challenges for couples, taking you outside the comfort zone of your normal routines. If nothing else, it will show you how good you both are at planning and arranging things as a team. You’ll quickly notice if one or the other of you takes the lead and how they do it. You might notice one or the other of you becoming more controlling, or that one of you has a particular talent for organisation or finding a bargain. You’ll also both notice quickly how well you each manage your finances for the trip.
The learning about each other doesn’t stop once you head out. There will be unexpected changes to routines and problems to overcome, and you will often see for the first time how your partner copes with these issues. You’ll get a good idea of how you work to solve problems as a team and who has strengths and weaknesses in different areas such as flight delays, problems with accommodation or understanding and making yourselves understood in foreign languages.
You’ll often also find this trip is your first real indication of what it’s like to live with each other twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. With sleep, meals and everything in between now being shared, you’ll often be seeing each other when one or the other isn’t looking or feeling their best. How do you both cope with that vulnerability, and does it actually make you want to run away as fast as possible?
With all that going on, can you still unwind enough to enjoy each other’s company, embrace the romance and spend time wrapped up in each other? Holidays are a great opportunity to connect on a deeper and more meaningful level, or at the very least to learn more about each other.
Hopefully your romantic holiday will confirm everything you already feel for each other and give each other even more to talk about and share as wonderful experiences. Start small and build up, and let your holidays be an important part of building a strong relationship.