Time can make relationships stronger. If you have spent most of your life with the same partner, you surely have accumulated a lot of shared memories that have helped you know each other better: you know what your partner likes, you know how your partner would react to certain situations, you know what makes your partner happy. In other words, time has meant that you have grown closer to your partner.

But that’s not always the case and sometimes time can destroy relationships too. Time lets us get to know people, but many times people change, so the person we thought we knew is not the same person anymore. Other times, the more we know someone, the more aware we are of his or her imperfections.

How can we keep a healthy relationship with our life partner? First of all, we need to try to embrace changes. If your partner has changed, celebrate it! That means that he or she is still a person who evolves and you have been together long enough to notice these changes. Learning how to fight fairly can also help you. It’s not that happy couples never argue: the secret is to end up understanding and respecting your differences. Finding new exciting activities that you can do together is another way of keeping the flame alive: go for a day trip every Sunday, discover new restaurants, start doing sports… Just try to find an activity that you both could enjoy together.

Finally, you and your partner have to accept the challenges of aging. Vulnerability comes with the years, and you will probably have to take care of each other as soon as the first physical or mental problems appear. The key is to know that he or she will be there for you. If you both agree, the rest is a piece of cake.