Out on our anniversary date.

I write about ‘things’ a lot in my Favorite Things Friday posts, but many times my favorite things are not things at all.  This Friday I’m writing about one of my favorite things to do…go on a date with my wife.  It seemed to fit in well with celebrating our anniversary week.

Things get crazy busy when you have kids, and we haven’t even hit the school years yet.  It can be really easy for married couples to stop going out on special outings.  Dates are really important for married couples!  I might even go so far as to say they are essential if you have kids at home.

I’ll admit, sometimes our dates are not anything to write about. A lot of times we enjoy a nice dinner together then run a few errands.  Not near as exciting as when we were younger but we enjoy the time together and joking around while getting things done for our family.  Dates give married couples a chance to have fun together, communicate, connect and build their relationship.

Last night we were treated to a really nice date.  At Christmas my parents had given us a gift voucher for dinner at Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas.  Dinner is always good at any place where a coat is required for dining.  It was incredibly fancy and amazingly tasty.  We had a special night where we could laugh, reminisce and talk about the future. I believe we were the only minivan that the valet had that night 🙂

Dessert was amazing too!  I had never seen anything like the creations that the pastry chef made.  You know dessert is special when the waiters carry pocket flashlights to better show the fine detail of the dessert.  They even encouraged us to take photos.  My wife had the Strawberry Shortcake Surprise (left) and I had the Dark Chocolate Compostion (right).  The photos do them no justice at all.  They were small but packed with flavor and creativity.

Date night is not usually a fancy evening for us.  Usually we stay nearby and just enjoy some time for the two of us.  It’s an important part of building and nurturing our marriage.  We are blessed to have both sets of grandparents nearby.  They are always willing to spend time with our girls while we go out.

Why is date night so important for a marriage?  It lets your spouse know that you still love them, think they are special, and gives you a chance to reconnect with the memories and feelings you had when you were first dating them.  Too often as parents we can get caught up in taking care of the kids and forget to take care of each other.  Our first responsibility after all is to our spouse and not to the children.

It is worth noting that couples who have been married for a long time recognize the importance of dating.  This week I ran into a couple from church while I was out shopping.  I had a bouquet of flowers in my basket and they asked what the special occasion was.  I told them about our anniversary and the special dinner outing we had planned.  Later that evening, at mid-week worship, the husband of that couple pulled me aside and slipped me some cash.  He wanted us to go out on another special outing on them.  They have been married 58 years and he said that dating your spouse is amazingly important.

Sometimes we get stuck in a rut with our outings and need to try something new.  Here are a few of my suggestions for fun, low-cost outings:

• Choose your own adventure night – Prepare three envelopes with three different outings.  Let your spouse pick an envelope and off you go.  Helps get past the “What do you want to do?” conversation.
• Geocaching – While it might not sound romantic to some, an outdoor adventure on a nice Spring or Fall evening can be a lot of fun.  You could even take a picnic with you.
• Groupon night – Subscribe to the Groupon email and pick a deal that is different and fun.  There are always amazing deals on unique outings, classes and experiences.  Let Groupon come up with new ideas for you guys to try.

Obviously today’s post was geared toward the married people, but for my single and dating readers…take note.  Dating doesn’t stop when you get married.  In fact, it’s probably more important when you’re married and have kids than when you are single.

That’s it for today, but I do have a quick note… Make sure to come back next Friday for Favorite Things Friday.  I will have a brand new post and my first giveaway for the site.  You won’t want to miss that!