Date Night Epiphany

"Married couples need more than a routine married date night to stay close. Creative dating is necessary to keep love fresh."

We've always been great at dating. Even with Kayson. But now that we're married, living together with the added stresses of Erik's schooling and financial barricades...let's just say we flat out suck at it.

So, I kicked off a new plan.

Hot Date Night!

Sounds easy right? Well, it's not. Here's why. When you already do everything together, going out can tend to feel like any other day. The trick is to spice it up. That's our new challenge.

I don't know why but this date night was off the charts. It was just a simple dinner & movie night. But from the giddy-all day anticipation to the canoodling in public to the (ahem) good night kiss, it was UHmazing. Here's why:

#1 We simply just GOT EXCITED. Having something to look forward to was it. I decided to have the attitude that it was going to be something special and that I got to reconnect with my hubby. I got in the mindset that I hadn't seen him one on one in a long time, as if he'd been out of town. And that pumped me up! (I was actually counting down the minutes)

#2 GO THE EXTRA MILE. I thought back to when I would be dating someone new and how I'd get a new outfit and think of ways to look super attractive. So what did I do? I spent a little dough and bought something cute to wear. ($15 did the trick)

#3 CLEAR YOUR MIND. This is a big one. We completely separated our thoughts from all the typical things going on in our lives and just focused on eachother. That's a concept. I looked at him differently, listened to him...and kept reminding myself I wasn't at dinner...I was on a date with a super hot bloak!

#4 TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT. Ok this time our activity wasn't something different but let's just say (earmuffs) we tried something different at some point in the night to spice things up. In the future we have lots of fun date nights that are creative that we want to take on. But honestly, knowing we were doing something different and exciting really got the adrenaline going.

#5 P.D.A. I can't say it enough. Don't get me wrong...we don't get sloppy. But hanging on my honey's arm and sneaking a kiss here and there not only makes you look like honeymooners but FEEL like honeymooners. I flirted my heart out. And it worked. It actually worked. It made me feel great!

That's it. I'm not an expert on love. It took me 28 yrs to put that ring on my finger. But that doesn't mean I didn't learn a thing or two in between. I don't care what period in your life you find yourself at, I believe we all will end up in a time where we could use some reconnecting and "spice". This just happened to be my own personal plan and what worked for us. Here are some pics from what our date night was like.

Last, here's a quick list of things we talked about on our date that we thought might make fun creative dates. We can't wait to take them on.

Roller Skating

Ice Skating

Dancing

Bowling

Bike Trip

Indoor Surfing

Indoor SkyDiving

Raging Waters

Re-living date nights from the past

Anyway, I hope that my babbling will spark an idea or two in someone else's love life. So many possibilities. So much time. Marriage is fun.