One evening this week my husband and I went on a date. A night out with just the two of us has been rare since becoming parents. I will admittedly say that it's probably been about 4 years since we went on a formal date. I'm sure you're wondering how we could have gone that long. Well, we just did.
Since becoming parents our focus has been on the kids and I'm not someone who could easily trust just anyone with them. We don't have a lot of family close by nor do we have many friends who are always available. Plus it's hard for me to ask if anyone would be willing to watch my children just so we could go out on a date. But I did ask our friend across the street if she wouldn't mind watching them so we could go out and she seemed more than happy to do it. She felt she owed me for always getting her son off the bus every day during the school year and keeping him until she got home from work. They have a son my son's age and a daughter a little older than my daughter so it worked out well. Our kids had a blast and, of course, we enjoyed the evening together.
I even wore a dress. Yes that's right. I wore a dress. If you know me personally you'll know that wearing a dress is something I don't do often. It actually felt good to dress up. It also felt good to see my husband unable to keep his eyes off of me the entire evening. We ate at a pub located at a hotel, on a patio that overlooked a golf course. The food was delicious and afterwards we walked across the parking lot for some ice cream. Then took a little walk to check out the beautiful scenery before heading home. It was a lovely night and one I'm thankful for.
I'm aware of the fact that keeping the marriage alive even after kids is so important. He was my husband before we became parents. We made a decision to wait at least five years before having children so we could have plenty of time to focus on ourselves and each other. Then we brought our son into the world and then our daughter almost four years later and life became all about them and their needs. Of course my husband and I still make sure we take moments to focus on each other as often as we can; constantly saying "I love you," giving hugs and kisses to each other throughout the day and making sure we have a little snuggle time while watching television after the kids are in bed. Since going out on dates isn't something that can be done easily for us we've dedicated every Friday night as our indoor "date night." We watch a movie while I enjoy a glass of wine or something a little stronger (hey, after a long week it helps to wind down) and we'll end the night ... well, do I really have to say? It's been great having our own special reserved indoor date nights and I'm thinking of different ways to keep it interesting and fun. However, leaving the house and having a romantic dinner and time alone was definitely needed and enjoyed. We will have to try to do it more often, rather than once every four years.
Our marriage started out being just the two of us and once the kids are grown and out of the house it will again be just the two of us. We need to make sure we focus on our marriage, even during the busyness of raising our wonderful children. It's so important to keep the marriage strong and put each other first.
"Above all things have intense and unfailing love for one another" -- Romans 12:10
Thank you to my husband for our amazing date and thanks to our friends for keeping an eye on our children. I'm blessed!
No comments:
Post a Comment