Are you married? In a relationship? Do you have little kids? Maybe your kiddos are 8-10 years old and driving you nuts. Perhaps your kids are teenagers. Do you think your life is busier than everyone else’s? That no one is more stressed, tired, broke than you? I’ve got news for you. You are not alone.
Exhausted women unite.
I’ve been with my Hubby since I was almost 20 years old. We’ve done the blissful newly dating thing. The two incomes no kids thing. The stay-at-home-Mom gig. I’ve been through the exhausted 2 kids and 2 dog phase. (that was stupid) The I’m crying in the shower and making lunches at 11:30 at night hoping I have something to wear to work phase. And the am I just a freaking chauffeur phase. What I’m trying to say is, raising a family is hard work. Dating your Hubby through all of this….is tricky.
How do you make time for man you love most? Here’s the secret you need to know for dating your Husband. You just do it. Every day, every week, every month. You may not always do it well, you may not be consistent, actually sometimes you may suck at it. But when it comes to marriage, to the man you love the most, you find the fun, the joy, the love and you make the time to date your Husband.
Why? Well, in the blink of an eye 20 years will pass you by and those little bundles of joy who used to wake you up 5 times a night will be packing their bags and heading off to University or College. Planning lives of their own without you. The house once filled with chaos and noise, extra friends and extra demands will suddenly be quiet. Way too quiet. When that time comes you want to be excited about the next stage of life; time alone with your Husband, time to tackle the next big dream. You don’t want to be looking across the dinner table at a stranger.
Here are my best tips to make sure you carve out time with your Hubby right now:
*Get over the idea that a “date” has to be so traditional and embrace all the little ways you can show extra love towards each other throughout the day, week and year. Then get on with it already.
*Make a pact to get together and dream big at least once a year. Every New Years Eve we set our goals for where we’d really like to vacation or travel together for the upcoming year. All those dreams may not come true, but there’s power in the dreaming.
*Always kiss hello and goodbye.
*Never go to bed angry. It may be trite, but it’s true. Life is too short to waste precious hours wrapped up in anger.
*Truly can’t escape the house for a real date? Wine and dine him. Put the kids to bed, set up the dining room with your best dishes, candles and fancy stuff and enjoy a dinner for two.
*Play hooky. So much fun! Sneak away for a coffee or movie in the middle of the day. You will feel all kinds of scandalous having a date in the middle of the day while your kiddos slave away at school.
*Go out of your way for each other. Surprising him by picking up his favourite cupcake or cinnamon buns to share on the back porch or bring him home a fancy coffee.
*Turn off those phones. The kids, work, life keeps us busy enough. When you sit down to have dinner, turn off those phones and really enjoy your time together.
*Plan a vacation with your Husband….and no one else! No kids, no friends, no work. Just the two of you. Even if it’s just for a couple of days.
*Take dancing, cooking or a photography classes together. Do something new, badly, together.
*Flirt. Just because you can.
*Dance in the kitchen, the grocery store, around the block together and embarrass the heck out of your kids.
*Feed the kids early, then banish them from your space. Have your own special dinner together later on.
*Rent a movie, pop popcorn and shut out the world.
What it all boils down to is this, I know you’re tired. I know life is hard. He’s tired too. We all are. Just don’t forget to make yourself, your relationship, your love a priority. Not only are you guaranteed to have a little fun this way, but your future self will thank you for it. I promise.
Mwah.
Hubby and I are celebrating our 8th anniversary today. Finding time to “date” is so hard with our busy lives, but so valuable. We’ve called in re-inforcements so that we can have some “us” time. Tomorrow, we are heading out on our first “kid-free” vacation. As part of our personal #Canada150 celebrations, we’re headed to Whitehorse in the the Yukon. Just because. Can’t wait!
great tips! make every moment count for sure even when life gets in the way
Great ideas. Everything takes work as do relationships.
Great reminders. Little things matter, like fun surprises and regular together-time.
It is amazing how many people take marriage lightly. It is alot of HARD work. You have to be determined to work at it. The kiss in Hello and good bye are are very important. You never know if you will see each other again. We will be married for 38yrs. this Sept. and I still love the old fart.
I love all of your ideas for dating, especially kiss goodbye and hello. Such a simple thing to do that I think can really make a difference.
We always keep putting it off. So at a silent auction last year I bid on a bunch of restaurant gift cards. Now we have to go out! It’s working 😉
Thank you for the inspiring post
It is too true that the time just slips past. We though need to create time away from one another (LOL) as we seem to do everything together.
You have made a wonderful list we should at least think about,i love my hubby and we do everything together
What a great list! I agree with many of your tips – especially the kissing hello and goodbye – quite important but easily forgotten in hectic lives. Thanks for another great post!
It’s so easy to get into a funk and be doing your own thing, so you need to have date nights and just go and be with hubby and rekindle the love, plus it’s fun to get dressed up and wear makeup and just to go out and have fun!!
All good tips! From experience, it gets even BETTER when the kids move out. Of course we adore our girls, but now, we can really focus on each other. Let the fun begin!
I love this post it’s so important and sometimes being busy people don’t take the time.Every other Saturday night we have a date night we take turns deciding the activities ,it’s fun and creative.
All great tips and yes it is so important to take some time together, we try to make time at least once a week.