On the 2nd, my husband and I celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary. We spent the day traveling back from visiting my in-laws in Tennessee. The night before, we had stayed in a hotel to break up the trip. Our daughter was done with sleeping for any stretch of time by 3:30 a.m., and our son was up by 6:30. I corralled them in the bathroom trying to allow my husband a little more rest. We were on the road by 8:45 after a quick breakfast stop at Whole Foods. One minute into the trip, both kids were struggling, our daughter wanting food and our son begging to watch a movie. Oh, what a difference seven years makes!
Our “vacations” have turned into “travels.” Our morning snuggle time has come earlier and now includes four extra hands to hold. Our long road trips where we caught up on life and had deep, meaningful conversations have become the ultimate mommy-challenge for me: keeping our kids occupied to keep my husband sane. Our candlelight dinners have been replaced by meals discussing knock-knock jokes and picking food up off the floor. Our love has grown by two.
Through all the stages of life, and even in the craziest of days, one thing remains: I would choose this same man over and over again.
When we got in the car to leave this morning, a card sat on my seat with my name written on it. Inside it read:
Sometimes in the busy moments of our everyday life
It’s hard to find time for the quiet you-and-me stuff…
But when we do, everything else seems to fall away,
And it’s just the two of us in our own little world.
I love that world–and I love that you’re the one I get to share it with.
This card brought me to tears… and made me think. In the busyness that is our life now, I need to make it a priority to find time for just the two of us. I’ve had this thought hundreds of times before, at which point I make up glorious plans to find a sitter two times a month for date nights and start planning a weekend getaway. And then, nothing changes.
Today my desire is to commit to creating quality time with my husband nightly after the kids go to bed (this will mean forcing myself not to fall asleep with them!) and to possibly setting up a lunch date once a month during our work day. Maybe it’s finding quick moments when the kids are distracted just to tell him I love him, to embrace him with a hug and kiss, or to sneak upstairs (does that ever really happen?!). All I know is that I need to try to make as much–ideally, more–focused time for my husband as I do for all the other people in my life. Too easily he gets put aside, because I know that he will always be there.
Today, for the one-hundredth time, I want to commit to putting my husband before my kids… but in small ways that seem more achievable. I love my husband, and I want to enjoy each day with him. Today, tomorrow, and when the kiddos fly from our nest.
Great post! For Christmas last year, Ben and I gave each other a year of dates. We made a commitment to go on at least one date a month for the whole year. We usually are only gone for 3 hours or so, but we come back happy and refreshed. Once you get in the habit of going out, it really becomes much easier and is something we eagerly anticipate every month!
I love that idea Katie…how sweet!