IS VALENTINE'S Day the most romantic day of the year for you and your loved one? Most happily-married people will tell you that for them, Valentine's Day happens not just in mid-February, but every day . . . or at least once or twice a week.
Contrary to the many cynical jokes, marriage does not have to go stale with the years. A happy marriage is like a living plant which, with constant care and nurturing will thrive and grow with the years.
Do you have what it takes to have a happy, romantic marriage? The following are several questions a therapist might ask, to evaluate marital or relationship satisfaction: How much time do you spend with your spouse? ''Plenty,'' say many couples. However, ''time spent together'' can take various guises: a) High-quality time. Attentive and intimate, either verbally or non-verbally communicating with each other without outside distractions.
b) Medium-quality time. More business-like, voicing one's views about children, in-laws, other family issues, or work.
c) Low-quality time. Together within the same premises, but either one or both is occupied by other tasks.
Special effort is required to create more ''quality time'' together when living in a hectic society like Hongkong.
What kind of priority do you give your partner as far as time is concerned? a) Do you make time to be with your spouse no matter how busy you may be? b) Do you spend time with your spouse only when asked? c) Are you sharing your time with your spouse only when you have nothing else to do? For many couples, priority is often given exclusively to children. For others, career and job come first. The only time they spend together is when they are in bed, half-asleep. The couple ends up with only left-over time for each other.