This is the third and final action in the Strong Marriage Experiment that is concentrated on Dating.  Yes, that means one seventh of the challenge is focused on getting alone and spending quality time together.

For most of us dating gets put on the back burner while we raise our kids, keep up with daily demands, and grow our careers.  Without being intentional about getting that time alone, duties take over and dating gets put on the shelf to gather dust and dreams.

I’ve known couples who make Date Night In a way to connect while keeping a close eye on the pocketbook, so I thought we should give it a try.

Strong Marriage Experiment Day 16 – Date Night In

Have a romantic evening in while the kids are occupied so you can get some quality time alone together 

Honestly, I wasn’t sure if we’d be able to pull it off.  I can count on my hands the number of times we’ve been able to get an extended period of peace and quite while the kids were under the same roof.  We don’t have a tv or gaming system which is quite upsetting to our nine year old, but we do have an old iPad and iMac that we use for entertainment purposes.

Stone ages, I know.

It’s my fault actually.  I couldn’t seem to pull myself away from episode after episode of HGTV programing so we yanked our cable 8 years ago and then a couple years later we left the big screen with the house as a parting gift.  How’s that for taking action!

Our Date Night In went so much better than I could have imagined.

I had envisioned dressing up for our date, but it was a weekend so we stayed in our sweats.  We got the kids situated with a movie upstairs and sat by the fire, ate our favorite appetizers, drank champagne, talked, dreamed, and finished up with David playing the guitar.

It was perfect.

There was even something sweet about the way our date abruptly ended.  Our youngest crashed our party and nestled her way onto my lap as David wrapped up singing and playing the guitar.  At that moment I just looked at him and thought We’re doing this, in the midst of life and chaos we’re reaching for a great marriage and our kids have a front row seat.

TAKE ACTION:  Give a Date Night In a try and see if it’s not something you want to schedule regularly as a way to connect without the worry of babysitters and finances.  You may be surprised how much you like it!

 

 

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