A Hot Date

If you read marriage enrichment books or go to marriage/family seminars, one of the things you hear that you have to do if you want your marriage to succeed is to go on dates regularly (suggested once a week). That would be great! But I wonder how many of those authors/teachers are actually on a budget like ours and would have to pay a babysitter to watch 4 kids plus whatever we do on our date. We consider ourselves lucky if we can get a date once a month!! I started thinking, "Man, does that mean that all those marriages 100 years ago were deficient because they (most likely) didn't go on dates once a week?" And that brought me to the conclusion that it's not the date that's so important - it's the quality communication that so many marriages don't have or make time for that is so important. Chris and I purposefully talk about issues, share dreams, and discuss goals. We work together to stay connected mentally, spiritually and emotionally during these busy days of child-rearing. And our relationship has grown deeper and better in spite of our lack of weekly dates. We did get to go on a fancy dinner date this week, and boy, was it fun! But I am so glad that I don't have to wait for these dates to be able to connect. It is a lifelong daily journey of learning, living and loving!