by Payden Montgomery
We have a four-month-old, own our own business, and both work full-time jobs. I work outside the home and my husband has a schedule that requires him to be out of the house most mornings by 5:30 a.m. He doesn’t even get home until around 7:30 p.m. each weeknight. With that said, I understand the busyness of life and the importance of going on dates. The first time we left to go on a date, our little man was just 14 days old.
We don’t have family who live in town, so grandma is not next door. However, keeping our romance alive in the midst of burp cloths and poop explosions is important. It doesn’t happen by chance—here are our three tips to make sure date night happens for you too.
1. Date Insurance Booking a babysitter gives you date insurance. Knowing you have someone already lined up will make sure that dinner and a movie actually happens. Find someone that you trust and book them about a week out. This prevents that ”We are free to go out to dinner, but we don’t have a sitter” conversation. We all know that things dont happen if they arent on the calendar. The same is true for date night.
2. Coffee Table for Two Dont underestimate the power of an at-home date night. Babies and kids go to bed early. When the budget doesnt allow for a sitter, just stay in. Order a nice dinner, light the candles, turn up the romance and turn down the volume on the baby monitor. Treat both of you to something that you both enjoy. If your guilty pleasure is cookie dough out of the fridge, then make sure you have that on hand.
3. No business talking about business Date nights aren’t the place for business and status updates. ”Can you pick him up from school?” “Did you call and remind your mom about . . . ?” Date night is about coming back to that sweet spot in your relationship—dating. When we were first dating, no one was asking about bills, schedules, and what to do about the dying shrubs. We were talking about what was exciting or worrying the other person. Keep that framework in mind so that a date night doesn’t become a married person’s business meeting.
It is important to keep in mind that there would be no bundle of joy if it weren’t for a little romance in the first place. Here’s to keeping the fire alive.
What do you do to say YES to dating when your life is saying NO?
