Date Night
Life is busy. Crazy busy. Like most people, and especially parents with young children, my husband and I feel like we are being pulled in a hundred different directions at all times. At the end of the day, once we’ve got our children in bed, our “chores” done, and are finished dealing with the everyday grind, there just isn’t much emotional capacity left in either one of us to really, truly enjoy each other. Often times, we end up slumping over onto the couch together, both of us reading a quick article or trying to decide on something to watch, only to decide after a few minutes of indecision that we’re both tired and we should just go to bed. We give each other a quick kiss goodnight and then are asleep before our heads hit the pillows. As sad as it is to say, there is just not much time for intimacy or “romance”. I know, I know……we need to MAKE time for each other.
I’ve heard it a million times and in theory, it makes a lot of sense and seems simple enough; just plan a date night once in a while and schedule yourselves in for some alone time. Make a plan and stick to it. The problem with theory though, is that it is not reality. The thing about reality is that in any given day, no matter how organized you are or how much you think you have prepared, the “plan” can change a hundred different times and throughout the course of the day your reality ends up looking very different from how you imagined it would be. Life gets in the way. It’s just part of the process of parenthood. The more children that you have the more uncontrolled variables you have to take into account, which results in an even bigger difference between theory and reality.
This weekend though, we’ve planned a date night. Just the two of us. No kids. No distractions. One on one. I’m pretty damn excited, and also, a little nervous. I feel like a teenager about to go on a first date with my high school crush. I have butterflies. I can’t wait to have an uninterrupted dinner, free from tiny humans who I have to bribe and argue and plead with to just have two more bites. I can’t wait to have adult conversation, and be able to get through a sentence, a complete thought, from start to finish, and without having to sensor everything that comes out of our mouths. I can’t wait to just be Michelle and Michael….for a few hours, we can just be us….and be reminded of the love that started this whole, crazy life of ours in the first place.
Wish us luck…..here’s to hoping that our theoretical date night ends up being our reality…..and that we can both stay awake long enough to actually enjoy it.
xo Michelle
