Weekly Date Night


Candle light
Originally uploaded by 1_ralf.
In church a couple of weeks ago, the topic for discussion was "improving the relationship between husband and wife". There were a group of men, most of whom had grown kids and had been married for a long time. My sweetie and I have been married 17 years and I was one of the younger men in the crowd. It was a rare opportunity to learn from the voice of experience.

One common thought was the importance of planning, scheduling and having a date with your sweetheart on a regular, weekly basis. Some weak objections were raised about not having enough time. The response to this objection is it depends on your priorities. Our lives are so full and our time so occupied that it takes planning to make a regular date night happen.

Each of us has the same 60 minutes in an hour and 24 hours in a day. There is not time to do everything, but there is time to do the important stuff. Those men who seemed to have the longest, happiest marriages made continued courtship one of the important things in their life and thier marriage. Some of those precious minuites each week were dedicated to their most important relationship.

They also mentioned how important it was to actually schedule the time. For the really important tasks in life, we write them down, block out the calendar, and protect that time from other conflicts. Do the same with your date night.

Some ways to help ensure a date happens is to pre-pay for the event. Movies and plays allow you to buy tickets in advance. The same goes for sporting events. A gift certificate or a reservation at a fancy restaurant at the top floor of some hotel with a great view can also help in motivating a date. Another trick is to invite another couple to double date with you. Its fun and harder to back out on.

Invite your sweetie on a date today.

BTW: The other readers would love to hear some of the unique, inexpensive dates that you and your sweetie have enjoyed. Post them in the comments for all to get ideas. Remember this is a kid friendly site.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Wait for the kids to be in bed, fix a simple but visually pleasing dinner, and sit down to mutually enjoyed TV (best with a PVR).

Sit outside after sunset with just candles or Tiki torches, and watch the stars come out. Really nice after a hot summer day.

Go through the collections of pictures from the past how ever many years together.
These are some great ideas, Tim? Hey, we should do lunch some time soon.
Rosemary said…
We've been married 43 years and are both retired. We use Fridays as a Date Day. I use the classifieds early on Friday mornings, along with our AAA map services to map out an itenerary for a day of Estate Sale and Yard Sale hunting.

We plan out a route, eat out together, and just enjoy each other's company and the thrill of the search and seeing all the fascinating things.

We've alway been able to more than cover the cost of our purchases, our meals, and gas with our Internet sales.
Juli said…
This one might strike you a bit odd, but one of the most memorable and fun date nights I still remember and get a kick out of is grocery shopping. My husband and I ripped the list in half. He went one way, I went the other and we met up at the check stand.

I can't think why that would be so much fun, but it was. Maybe just because it was something different than the typical dinner and movie that we usually do.

Juli
We have often gone shopping for a date. Its surprising how much we can enjoy with evening without being badgered by the kids.
Aunt Julia said…
An ideal date for me would be a romantic dinner and then a slow dance and hopefully a nice gift from my husband.
nicholet said…
YOU MUST PLAN!!!! Something!!! Please!!! If you don't have a plan, then you will end up wasting a half of a tank of gas, or 3-4 hrs, or all your extra energy, trying to figure out what you want to do, and spend no time actually doing it! And I've also figured out something else about my husband and I...sometimes, you should just keep it a surprise, even if it's something simple. I have found myself hating some of my husband's ideas of a date, until we're actually there and then I'm fine and we always wind up having a great time. The fact that you've planned something, and then given the other person no chance to gain some preconceived notion of how they think the date's gonna go, and feel negatively about what ever it is you're going to do..this makes the date more exciting. Then, try to out-do eachother, find the cheapest, most interesting, or free-est thing to do, and then last .... make it a regular thing, and make it fit into your schedule. It doesn't have to be on the same day of the week, at the same time each week. How about a surprise visit to the office for a quick store bought lunch? A saturday afternoon when the kids have taken off, washing the car(s) together. Do a crossword together, on opposite ends of the couch. Put together some pantry items, clean out your cabinets or closets and make a drop to your neighborhood thrift store or food pantry. My husband and I like to go to Barnes and Noble and read..we're there for hours, and can each find plenty to read about things we like. Hope this helps! Sorry so long! This was just on my mind today and I thought I'd share!

Popular posts from this blog

Sweet Deal: Free Printable Valentine's Day Love Coupons

Marriage on Television

Don't stop flirting with each other