14 Years & Still Dating

My gosh I remember those butterflies I would get every time Moe would call back when we first started talking. There was that sense of excitement, the emerging new feelings, realizing this could be more than just a high school crush that there might be something more here. With God as our center we moved forward, let our relationship progress naturally without any rush, through each stage carefully.  Our hearts falling more in love with one another while carefully breaking down those walls of uncertainty, we were clearly able to see Gods hand at work and that he has placed us in each other’s lives for his purpose. Through the stages of our relationship and the fact that I was busy with school, he with work, we really only were able to see each other go out on actual dates on the weekends well Saturdays (that is if they weren’t already busy with studying or work or whatever).

talk about a throw back guys | back when they still date & time stamped pictures

Since getting married almost 7 years ago and having Logan 5 years back, life got busy and the dates began to get put on the backburner. With buying and remodeling a house, both having full time jobs, and trying to juggle family life amongst the chaos of our lives it just seemed like we kept pushing back date nights…it also didn’t help that I would rarely want to give up whatever time I had to spend with Logan just to go out for a meal…but with that being said and in true hindsight I realize how important these date nights are.  As a couple we need that time away to re-connect for bring the focus back on us to the butterflies we once felt 14 years ago.

As hard as it is to leave Logan for a couple of hours and I would much rather bring him everywhere with us or plan things for the family to do together, its nice to be able to go out and be treated to a nice meal. Plus when we go out for the night it gives him a chance to spend some time with his grandparents which I'm sure is much more fun for him than going out for sushi with mom & dad.  It’s just as special a night for him as it is for us…so basically it’s a win all around.

So last night since we had planned for Logan to spend some time with buni and bunu…Moe decided to ask me out…on a real date…7 years of marriage and 14 years having been together and the man still asks me out on a date! Now we’re not fancy by any means and I’m the kind of girl who’s just happy with dinner and a movie…so that’s exactly what he had planned…dinner and a movie. Free from worry & able to enjoy a grown up meal (we picked sushi!). The best part of the night was realizing at the end of the meal that we actually didn’t have our phones out once…it was about us and having an actual conversation…not that we don’t talk or something crazy like that but life gets busy & we get distracted so its nice to just shut everything off and just talk to each other and really just enjoy each other’s company even if its only for a few hours.

The dating really shouldn’t stop and life shouldn’t get so busy that we can’t take one night a month to just go out and be us. Ill be the first to tell you how important it is not to lose that connection with your spouse. Ill also be the first to tell you that I understand life gets the best of us more often than not…but seriously take a night off, go out just the two of you, enjoy a real meal at a restaurant that has an actual menu that doesn’t include chicken tenders…

grown up dinner courtesy of RA Glenview 

Plus I think its also important for your kids to see that love between their parents, to see that its not always just about going to work, or working on the house, or car, or whatever it’s that we are kept busy with throughout our week. It’s not a bad thing for your sons to see their dads treat their mom’s special by planning a special night out and vice versa for daughters as well. Our kids learn from us, they take what they see and will apply that to their own lives in the future, I can only hope that logan will remember nights where mommy got dressed up and daddy decided to take her out somewhere nice and he will understand that when he’s in our shoes how important these nights have been and will be for him as well.  

So why not find a sitter (grandparents, friends…you can even offer to watch their little ones so that can take night out next, sisters, responsible children of friends), trade in those comfy pants & messy mom bun for jeans, a nice shirt, and maybe if you dare heels and plan a night out for you and the hubs…cause ladies sometimes we need to step up and plan a night out…I’m sure our guys have plenty going on and it be nice for them to be treated to a date night would be nice too…and enjoy. Enjoy a good meal & even better company! And on that note here’s to future date nights.

clearly mommy CAN clean up well....