Why I Love My Wife - Reason 09

9. We are faithful both physically and emotionally.

Faithfulness includes having things we make sure we do together physically and emotionally.  The things in this category we might do with other people also, but not with purposeful regularity.  For example, I might sometimes give a friend a neck massage, but I treat it as a duty to give my wife as much massage as she asks for--and to frequently ask if she needs a massage so that I am not relying on her initiative.

Faithfulness includes having things we make sure we only do with each other physically and emotionally.  The things in this category we might not do very often, but when they happen we know it is a special thing reserved for each other.  For example, the fireplace can add a romantic ambiance to various stuff, and we know we only treat fireplaces as romantic with each other--even though we might not do this at all during the warm summer months when we do not heat the house.

(I have written before about how terrible it is when spouses are not each other's best friends and closest confidants.)

To paraphrase, physically and emotionally we have reliability, intimacy, and exclusivity.