We all acknowledge how important it is to date our spouses. Time away from the mundane gives us fresh perspective which can lead to clearer problem solving.

It can also delightfully remind us why our spouses became our spouses in the first place :)

Normally, we set aside an evening; leave around 5pm, dawdle over dinner, watch a movie, run errands, just hang out and come home to tucked in babies and a quiet house.

Today, we did something very different. We had a date DAY. I didn’t have classes to teach and D happened to be home, so we left around noon and returned at dinner time.  This worked out GREAT! While we were out, we were able to handle some grown-up phone calls that needed to be placed during business hours (you know, the kind that, when placed at home, will have an IMMEDIATE magnetic effect on the children WHO MUST FOLLOW THE PULL IN THEIR LOUDEST VOICES).  We shopped clearance for a few spring pieces for the kids, picked up project material for our son, leisurely stood in Home Depot determining solutions to fix-it problems (well, “we” only because we are one… “we” was mainly “him”).

And we ate lunch. Lunch was cheap. And SUPER delicious. And a buffet.  So we were there for a l.o.n.g. time just hanging out and talking.

We weren’t tired after a full day of work and homeschool, we weren’t pushing to get back because we had to get up for work and homeschool. We just hung out and enjoyed each other’s company. And we got things done that absolutely could have been done with all 3 angels, but were kinda nice to have done quickly.

We got home in time to grab kids, run through a drive through (nojudgingthankyou), and head to church. We were able to maintain our family evening routine; it was as if we just slipped right back into a normal day.

You’re probably like me, and your kiddos have learned/are learning that it’s a great thing when Mommy & Daddy get to go hang out. Ours don’t get upset or “punish” us for being gone, but this was a cool change that I think even they appreciated. Beyond asking if we had fun and telling us ALLLLLLL the fun they had with our friend who kept them (which, at the rate of speech was a 5min summation), it was as if we’d never left.

Pretty cool.

So try it sometime. Head out on a Saturday morning for breakfast and errands or in the afternoon for an early (cheaper!) lunch and movie. You might even get to go to Home Depot and learn something fascinating about paint sprayers. And how handsome your husband looks when he’s in testosterone happy land. And that works for me :)

Head over to Kristen’s for more GREAT tips!

PS (and very important!) — I *highly* recommend Upscale Pizza if you’re ever in the Atlanta area!

 

 

Advertisement