Saturday, May 14, 2011

Hot Date

Yes, kids,Daddy and I are going out tonight! Yee ha! Whether you like it or not, it's the best thing for us AND for you. In the long run it is better for you that we do go out...alone.

I've come to realize over the years that one of the best things I can do for my children is to cultivate my relationship with my husband. One of the ways of working on our relationship is getting away together alone on a regular basis. This is just about the only time we get to talk to each other privately.(Talking in bed before dropping off to sleep doesn't count since most of the time we are way too tired to pay good attention to one another) Besides that I need to get away from my house and the kids once in a while.

Our dates are usually pretty simple: dinner and a movie or dinner and shopping. When we are trying to save money we do quickie dates or cheap dates. Cheap dates are usually things like eating out locally (saves on gas) and watching a movie at home by ourselves with kids banished to their rooms. Sometimes its a Saturday afternoon  lunch out at a local place combined with a trip to Restore, Habitat for Humanity's store. A quickie date sometimes involves my husband picking me up in the afternoon and taking me along with him on an errand he must run for work. I can knit in the car and we can talk privately while en route. I get to see all kinds of interesting places I wouldn't ordinarily see this way.  Recently I got to go with him to pick up a hive of bees he had ordered for work.  I also got to go with him to set the bees  out in the orchard at work. The bee supply place was fascinating and setting up the hive was way cool.

Our date times have become times of refreshment. We try to leave stresses at home or at least talk them out in the car at the beginning of our drive and limit the stressful topic to 10 minutes. Sometimes we make the rule, "no talking about the kids."  That's hard to hold to sometimes but it forces us to talk about other subjects. It keeps our relationship from being totally consumed by children. And I do believe that is good.

3 comments:

  1. Oh Valerie,
    Preach it, Sista!

    I think this is vital for a marriage. And you give such good, simple suggestions.

    j. p.s. Love the green background. It's so soothing.

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  2. Couldn't agree more. My husband and I try to make this happen once a month. It's so easy to lose track of each other and your relationship amidst everything that goes on in a family!

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  3. Yes! Dates are so important, no matter how long you've been together. I love the simple options too. A fancy date is nice every once in a while, but sometimes I only have energy for dinner and a movie, out or at home. :)

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