Date Days

Like the necessity of date nights, today Greg and I discovered the necessity of date days.

We planned nothing except that we would both take a day off but still send the boys to school.

We did our usual Sunday errands, postponed because of Easter. The grocery was empty and quiet, even more so without fights over cookies and begging for balloons and the wails that follow the shove out of the car cart.

After a spin through the car wash and the purchasing of a new phone, we came home, went for a run sans the 100 pound jogging stroller, and then the real romance begin.

First stop: Home Depot, where I got to ride home with a bouquet of lumber on my lap.

A few repairs to the deck (I held screws, wedged lumber, and moved the ladder) and we were off to lunch. Tacos (extra beans!) and iced tea in the warm sun.

The fun didn't end there--Greg brought out the chain saw and cut down the half-dead tree in the front yard.

Are you swooning yet?

Have you ever done a day date? It's strange, isn't it? The first hour is like the deepest breath you've ever taken. And then slowly, it starts to creep in: the desire to want to hug your kids and play with them and read them books and draw pictures and watch a movie and play Uno. I tried to ward it off with the reminder that they'd run away from my hugs, beg me to play superheroes, whine about the movie selection, and throw the Uno cards across the room before hitting each other.

Honestly, I didn't have to try too hard to keep that mom guilt away. (Yesterday's Easter sugar crash tantrums fulfilled my quota for the month.)

No marriage is perfect, and the addition of any amount of children seems to intensify its complexities. What upon first glance appears to be just a day of errands and home improvement projects was sprinkled with the familiar inside jokes and phrases and conversation that often disappears when the attention of little ones is so present.

It is such a simple way for us to reconnect. I think one day he will surprise me with some plane tickets to a far-off destination (hint-wink-nudge-kick to the shins), but for now, I am content (and not just saying it) to simply set aside time to be with one another, in whatever form that happens to take.

-Kristin