Date Night

When my husband and I were young and dating date night was full of fun and excitement. We went wherever we wanted to go whenever we wanted to go! As a couple we were getting to know one another and loving every bit of it. Brian and I would stop and eat dinner, go bowling, see a movie or go play a sport. Date plans were our own time and nearly every weekend! It was great and we had fun. The "dating" didn't change too much when we were first married we still went out every weekend having fun and spending time alone.

About two years after we were married we had sweet little Eli and date night would forever change. It was still easy to have family "babysit" him almost every weekend. But as we had more children the harder it was to afford and find capable babysitters. We have always been blessed to have family care for our children. We are so fortunate to have my mom, mother in law, my sister (before college), sister in law and a few like family friends who have no problem caring for our kids. Planning the time becomes harder as our family grows and matures. For example this spring we had two kids playing soccer and daddy coaching soccer which didn't leave much free time. My husband is a homebody and weekly needs some down time at home with our family.

We live in a small town and there isn't much to do. There are a few local restaurants, fast food, bowling and Walmart. We have plenty of bars, if that's your thing but my husband and I do not drink. To change things up a bit and do something different we have to travel a good forty-five minutes. Now that we have several kids we usually keep it local because it's hard to ask someone to watch the kids for 4-6 hours. After a while I start to feel a little bad for whomever is watching them, especially since we are fortunate to have childcare from family for free! Without them I don't know how we'd ever afford a date, babysitters can get pretty expensive nowadays!

Date night means so much more to us now. We do not merely entertain ourselves but spend quality time together. Time that we don't even get at home. On a date we can actually talk without being interrupted or having to discipline a small child. It's so nice and reminds us why we're married, why we chose each other and why we go through this crazy life together. Because we love each other and are best friends. There is no one I would rather share my life with. I am constantly amazed by what a great father my husband is and date nights remind me what a great husband and gentleman he is. I love him and love our time together. When we have the privilege to plan date night all week long I am looking forward to our time. Though I often remind myself that one day we will have plenty of time to share and simply be together. Right now our focus is on our kids, loving, caring, and training them. But sometimes truly we need the time to ourselves and away from it all. Time to reflect, connect and enjoy. Date nights are now like mini vacations away from the responsibility of our little lives. Date nights are the best!