Great Escape: Getting Away for a Date Night

Do you remember when you met your spouse? How you’d look forward to your plans all day? Girls, you’d plan out your outfit a few days ahead of time.  And guys, you maybe would even swing your car through the carwash before picking her up. You could stay out as late as you wanted because you could sleep in the next morning as late as you wanted.  If you’re a parent, that may feel like ages ago.

Now, throw a kid (or four) in to that equation and it looks a little different. You’ve got to find a sitter, make a plan and sometimes, at the worst times, it seems one of your lovely children end up sick. Plan out an outfit? I don’t know about other moms but my wardrobe now consists of four or five outfits I rotate between and really, I wish I were kidding.

My husband and I decided long ago to make date night a priority. No, that doesn’t mean we get all dolled up and go somewhere fancy. Sometimes this means dinner and a movie just us. Other times we’re meeting friends at a new restaurant and other times we’re sitting at the coffee shop going over our schedules and plans and just catching up on life.

Still other times we’ll just get the kids in bed early, pick up take out and just relax with a movie at home.

These are nights I look forward to, regardless of what we’re doing. Our kids are ecstatic to have a babysitter on the nights we go out and we love being able to walk out the door as a couple and not worry about bath time and bedtime and all that goes into it.

We’re able to come home hours later renewed, refreshed, usually laughing about something, to a quiet house with sleeping children making date nights just another one of my favorite great escapes.

An added bonus and my personal recommendation, switch off sleeping in the next day.