One final date

By Published On: August 28th, 2014

As I was writing last week’s post, I honestly thought […]

As I was writing last week’s post, I honestly thought I would probably be writing this week to report that we had a new baby. Alas, no such luck, though. Since we didn’t have a baby this week, we decided to do the next best thing. We went out on a date.
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After the new little blessing arrives, we probably won’t be going out for a little while, so it was awesome to get one last special time with my wife before the birth. We had a splendid time. We got the babysitter lined up and made reservations at the local ale house. I think I might have even showered beforehand, so you know this was a big deal.
This time was a good reminder to me of how important it is for couples to get some good quality time every now and then. Many of our friends have a standing “date night” where they go out once a week to get that quality time. I respect and admire that, but our time and finances are too scarce to allow for such frequent outings. I’m not particularly bothered by that, though. We get out on a date about every 6 weeks or so. That may sound depressingly infrequent to some, especially our friends who manage to get out on a weekly basis. It works for us, though. We enjoy being with our kids, so we aren’t looking to separate from them often.
Even so, it is still very important to preserve some special time for mom and dad every now and then. I sometimes forget how important this time is when I get all caught up in the activities and responsibilities of life. I have to admit that I let date night slip down near the bottom of the priority list as pressure mounts. It shouldn’t be that way, though. I should be fighting to keep that at the top of the priority list. I know that stability and peace spread to the whole family as mom and dad are stable and peaceful, and having a regular time together is a key part of cultivating that peace and stability. Consider this my public declaration that I want to do better at this.
As you can see in the photo, we enjoyed a nice dinner on the balcony overlooking the river. The food was good, and the conversation was even better. We both came back home that evening feeling very refreshed. We also came home to the pleasant smell of brownies, which our daughter had made while we were gone. Our whole family enjoyed desert together, which was a very pleasant way to end our evening. I’m already thinking ahead to a time after the birth when we can do our next date.