Preventive Maintenance for Marriage

You may ask, what is Preventive Maintenance for Marriage, or PMM? Well, it is an agreement between a Husband and his Wife that says they both are dedicated to making their marriage not only work but be a loving and lasting one. They agree that working on their marriage is a shared passion and find it necessary to moving forward. The PMM was Daniel's brainchild. A genius one at that. Dedicated to a wonderful marriage, he one day likened it to the same concept that goes into the maintenance of transport trucks. Backstory: 18-wheeler trucks require what is called a Preventive Maintenance(PM) check when it reaches a certain number of miles driven. During this PM, they check all the mechanical parts to see if they are in working order, the levels of all fluids and if they aren't full, they top them off. They make sure the brakes are functionally sound and safe for operation. And finally, the truck is hooked up to a computer program designed to check for any malfunctioning codes, alerting them of any INNER issues with the engine. The revelation from this is that this is what we wanted to do with our marriage. So, with that, we sat together and came up with the list of areas we would cover in our PMMs. This is a working, transitional document. We agreed our PMMs should be no less than 72 hours, or three days. While defining our PMMs, we both agreed that location was very important to us. So, we decided that our PMMs will be held in one of two locations; on a special getaway or in our Big Rig, as we drive across the Continental United States. These trips are usually 5-10 days, so we use those for an 'extended' PMM. We initially set our PMMs every 60-90 days but decided to push it out to quarterly. A couple should never go beyond 90 days without coming together to perform their PMM. This list is still the one we use today and will continue to use unless there is something we need to add. They make up the chapters in this book. The areas of our PMMs include: 1.Setting the Atmosphere a.Anytime you need to have an in-depth discussion of any kind that may or might not be long; you will need your space open and clean. This chapter will share on how having a "clean home" or "environment" is part of being able to be open. 2.Face-to-Face a.It's always good to just have open conversation before you get into real detail and the meat of your PMM. Making sure you are comfortable and get your mind and heart clear, take this time to talk about 'home.' This chapter will start where we will share about how our daily lives are and how we are doing. 3.Just to Be Close to You a.This can be a physical and a verbal interaction. This chapter will share on how every aspect of your sexual intimacy should be fun, healthy & enjoyable for both parties. We will share some of the tricks of the trade that has kept ours fresh and exciting. 4.Getting an Understanding a.This chapter we will share our 'Warning Signs' talks. This is for the rough areas that can cause potential problems down the road. Have the courage to call your spouse to the carpet on any sensitive issue that you foresee becoming a major problem. 5.Through the Storms a.When your get married, trouble doesn't stop. Walking through the fire of unfortunate situations in marriage will test the very core of who you are. Two such storms took us to a limit. But we made it through...stronger. 6.Supporting Your Mate a.This chapter will deal with the time we spend on hashing out the areas of our marriage where we need affirmation from our mate. 7.Reaching Forever a.This chapter will be used as a call to action as the six chapters are a 'plan' you will have to work on together! This book is interactive. You will be asked to add your own PMM feedback and notes. We don't want you to think our outcomes would be the same as yours so, after every chapter, you will be able to journal your thoughts and suggestions for your own PMMs when you schedule them.