We have a busy life. We run a photography studio. Darren works full time and then some. Our family lives out of town, his two hours to the west, mine two hours to the east. We’re fixing up our old house. Then there’s dance class, guitar lessons, yoga. Honestly, we don’t have much time for ourselves let alone each other.
So several months ago we decided to start going on weekly dates. It could be out for dinner, to a movie, mini golf, drinks, a play, or even just sipping steamers and walking around Chapters talking about books. It’s a few hours once a week to get away from our home and studio to focus on each other and why we fell in love in the first place.
Yes there have been hiccups, weeks missed here and there. Really we should probably just schedule the same bat-time and same bat-channel every week and guard it with our lives, but we haven’t gotten there yet.
How do you grow your love? Do you go on weekly dates? A weekend getaway once a month? Or is it as simple as a nice walk after work? Or whispering secrets in each other’s ears on a candlelit patio?
We began doing that when our kids were small. Now it is an unforced rhythm of our lives. I’m not a busy photographer (it’s a pipe dream at this stage of life) but we do have separate lives most of the week and so I try to do things that let him know I’m thinking of him even when we are apart – – Send him a coffee via a fellow employee, put a note in his pocket for him to discover at a point down the road, send him a picture of something that made me think of him… nothing major, in fact, more like ‘sweet nothings’. 🙂 25 years in Nov.
Oh Deea! I love it, I love it I love it! I may have to steal some of your ideas. I’m thinking in this heatwave it would be fun to sneak an envelope of ice cream money into Darren’s lunch.
Happy 25 years!
Ice cream money is a perfect idea! I may just steal that one! 🙂
My Darren and I have the same issue. He is a railroader and I’m back in school. We are like ships passing in the night a large amount of the time, but it almost makes our days together even sweeter. I like to leave notes in his lunch for him, or on his pillow.I randomly come home to flowers, or we go on long walks with our dog together when we can 🙂
Sounds almost like a long distance relationship under the same roof. I’m glad to hear you haven’t forgotten how important those little things are!