My wife and I are on vacation at an old haunt at Barnegat Light on Long Beach Island “down the Jersey shore” as you read this.

We love everything about the shore but what makes us anticipate this time together is revisiting and inventing new rituals.

Walking to the ice cream parlor near the lighthouse and waiting in a long line where we get to meet people from everywhere and around the corner.

Sitting on the beach after hours until the sun goes down.

Discovering a new walk.  Sitting by the dock of the bay would make Otis Redding happy.  (By the way, did you know Otis Redding never lived to see how big his version of “Dock of the Bay” eventually became).

Dinner with someone new.

Playing air hockey, golf and Scrabble together on our iPads.

Who knows what rituals we will conjure up this week.

A friend told me that successful relationships have one thing in common – they are embellished by seemingly little rituals that bring people closer.

A couple married 72 years recently revealed that doing things together and making decisions together makes for happier relationships.

Those decisions don’t always have to be major life decisions.

We can practice by making a late night run to Café Bacio in Beach Haven where they sell only desserts.

Followed, of course, by running on the beach to work off the calories the next day.