DATE NIGHT!

When we lived in Dallas, Joe & I had a pretty big social network. Our weekends were busy with our kids and their million activities, dinners and cookouts and swimming with friends and family, church and all the fabulous offerings (non-monetary, I might add) there, and an occasional night for just Joe and me. When we moved, the social network was gone. So were the babysitters. In fact, Joe & I spent our 15th wedding anniversary at an Outback Steakhouse with the children where I sat and sobbed the entire meal. We had moved just 4 days earlier, and I was coming to the realization that life had changed permanently - well, at least for the foreseeable future.

And then. And then - I decided this time in new Jersey might just be a gift that I was deciding not to unwrap. I read in a book about a man arriving in Heaven and passing beautifully wrapped boxes. When he asked Jesus about them, He said, "These were all for you. You just never unwrapped them." WOW. So, I decided to unwrap my gift.

From July until December, Joe & I went out on 2 dates. One was a work-related function for Joe. The other was the Saturday after my mom was diagnosed with cancer, and a sweet friend knew I needed some time to emote (which I did, over lettuce wraps at PF Changs. Therapeutic, I tell you). The rest of the time, it was primarily our family of five, going out and having different experiences together, or staying in. We ate at a Japanese Steakhouse one night. We went skiing. We drove to Philadelphia. We went to Central Park. We stayed home, huddled around the fireplace, making s'mores, playing games and cards and watching TV. We rented movies. We WENT to movies. We saw the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Mary Poppins, Wicked, and the Natural History Museum. I must say, unwrapping the gift of family time was incredible. I learned so much about my children and the things they enjoy. I learned who is a homebody and who is a go-getter. I know who plays by the rules and who wins at ANY cost. I know what makes them laugh, cry, get angry, walk away, and pout. And I love that. But, do you know what else I love?

My husband.

And that is why, tonight, I am reintroducing the DATE NIGHT. It has been too long since we've had dinner at a place without a play yard. It has been too long since we went to a non-kid movie. Marriage isn't easy - you have to be intentional about carving out "couple time." Otherwise, as Tom Nelson says, you become a butler and a maid sharing a house and waiting on the minions. So, I decided to carve. Tonight, we are having a date.

I can't wait.