It’d been a bad problem that was only been getting worse.
My husband and I have talked about it several times, but it just keeps happening.
When we’re together, we’re not getting quality time.
There was the date night we took during our vacation a couple weeks ago. We walked from our rented beach house to a nearby beach bar. On the way, we passed some beautiful houses on the beach that were for sale.
“I wonder how much those are going for,” I asked.
Without thinking, my husband reached into his pocket and started scrolling on his cell phone. I knew what he was doing. He was loading his Zillow app to check. He was trying to answer my question. He was trying to help.
But the truth was, I really just wanted his attention.
We kept walking, and by the time the house was about a half-mile behind us, he was still looking at his phone.
“Are you looking it up?” I asked.
“Oh yeah, I was. But then I saw this text from my dad. Wait, let me get it now.”
We do it all the time. We have information we want to find out. And this nifty little device in our pocket, or hand, or diaper bag that can answer our question within a few seconds.
It’s not my husband’s fault. He was trying to be helpful.
The problem is, the information is just too easy to get.
But then.
I had.
The best idea ever.
An idea that lends to great quality time together and helps me in my baby weight loss journey (52 pounds, in case you’re wondering).
See, usually, when we have a date night, we want to get dressed up and go to some swanky restaurant for dinner. Once we’re there, it’s expensive and loud. And we order cocktails and appetizers. And dinner. And dessert. (Because when you’re away from the kids, why not go all out, right?!?)
The next day, our wallets and our bodies have a hangover. And really, the restaurant was so loud and distracting that we didn’t even get a great conversation in.
And then there’s the fact that we’re so exhausted by the time we even get to the restaurant, that the whole dinner is really just a lot of yawning and thinking, I’d rather just be cuddled in bed, sleeping. (One of the zillion things you said you’d never do when you’re a parent, right? Be boring and tired all the time. Whoops.)
No, this best-idea-I-ever-had is not tiring. And, it’s low in calories. High in quality. And easy on the wallet.
Are you ready?
A DAY DATE.
Yes, it’s in all caps because it’s that awesome.
(Seriously, you need to try it.)
The other weekend, we booked our sitter from 10am to 2pm on a Saturday.
And here’s how it went down:
We woke up and had breakfast with the kids. And then, the sitter came and we were off. Done.
We packed a cooler of beers and waters.
And remarked at how light the beach bag was. (I swear, I checked it 4 times to make sure we had everything we needed. Towels, sunscreen, wallet. Yep, I guess that’s it. Wow, this is so easy.)
No sand toys. No diapers. No changes of clothes for the kids, or hats, or snacks, or their favorite kick boards.
Just towels and us.
And a really great, relaxing daytime date.
We bonded.
Because once we put the cell phones away, there really wasn’t much to do but talk.
And we had a great conversation. And just relaxed. At the beach. (Seriously, it’d been a long time since we’d done that.)
No kids to put floaties on and remind not to throw sand. No one to sunscreen but ourselves.
We even took a few dips in the Gulf. And got to hug in the crystal blue water. And feel young again.
Because, unlike our beach days with kids, our hands were free. We could both be in the water at the same time. Without a kid hanging on each arm. Without our eyes darting to the shore, to see where each little one is. Without 3-minute checks under the umbrella to see if the baby had woken up from his nap.
Of course, all of that family time is so fun. But this day was different.
It was about us.
At one point, thunderstorms and warm rain threatened our spot on the sand. But we decided, without a word between us, that there was absolutely zero chance that we would be leaving.
After a few hours, it was time to go home.
But because we’d sneakily planned to arrive home exactly 30 minutes after we’d instructed the sitter to put all 3 boys down for naps, we still had a few more hours of quality time. And thus, we continued our Saturday fun day in the backyard.
Together.
Just us.
What are your favorite ways to get quality time with your hubby? Share them in the comments section below.
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