Preventative maintenance is one of the keys to a healthy marriage. Bill Bresnan of Toms River, New Jersey understands this. He loves his wife, Kirsten, dearly. That's not just an involuntary emotion, but a deliberate decision. Bill loves her and shows his love by writing a romantic note to her every day.
He's done this for more than 30 years.
Kirsten keeps her husband's romantic notes. She's organized them so that they can always go through them and reflect on their past times together. He describes the practice in the Asbury Park Press (warning: auto-start video):
We read my compliments to Kris on something special she may have cooked one night, see what the weather may have been that day, etc.
One thing that holds true throughout every sentiment — every single card is an expression of my deep love for Kris by being signed, "I love you madly++, my Darling," followed by the infinity sign.
This is only one of the practices they consciously maintain in order to nurture their relationship:
We eat by candlelight every night with romantic music playing in the background; every good night kiss is followed by I love you, the morning ones, too.
There is no TV in our bedroom and never has been.
I fully agree with a sentiment that Bresnan explains in this video: love is act that you can consciously practice and a relationship is something that you can grow and build intentionally.