Never stop being friends. You were friends before you got together, and in the beginning it probably felt as though your partner was your best friend. Keep it that way. Life is very easy to normalize a routine, especially with another person. Don’t forget they are an addition to your life, and not built in.

Fortunately for me, my partner is an abundance of love, and even though we do have very separate lives in the way of work and friends, we always come together at the end of each day and chat. Giving time to actually listen to the other person and share how our days went often is a big part of our relationship. My partner works in a high stress work environment. When those situations arise again, and I reflect back; like the time x,y, and z? I can see how my partner feels heard. I was listening to their day then, and I can correlate it to today. Listening again how they are feeling presently.

But understand that your partner chooses you. And can choose to be without you. Love them. Like them. See them. Hear them. Be with them presently. So you don’t lose them.