We were in a crowded room full of dancing couples. I glanced across the way and smiled at a handsome man as I moved to the music. He was dashing in his hat and tie, and I felt a thrill of excitement pass through my body as he made his way towards me. It was just last week, but it could have been a scene from the night we first met. We danced all night, and by evening's end, I walked out of the dance studio feeling utterly and hopelessly enamored with J again.
I'd almost begun to think that that newlywed feeling was an unreasonable, if not impossible expectation while in our current stage of teaching/chauffeuring/disciplining/homeschooling and just plain raising four children with very strong personalities. It's a job I love-- a job I've wanted my entire life-- and yet it easily takes every ounce of passion, energy, and patience that I possess. The key, I thought, is to just accept this current reality.
But with J's lament that he missed me; he missed us; we began with renewed effort to court in earnest. Last weekend, we started out with an evening at the AZ Weddings gala, dining on fancy food, listening to opera, and walking along the lakefront as we enjoyed the cool evening breeze. The next night we went swing dancing, and the next was spent lazing around for the remainder of our Memorial Day weekend. Apparently, I mused, I just need a few days of complete and utter devotion in order to shed my mommy brain and feel like we're a couple again.
Obviously, we can't pull that off every weekend, but for now we're attempting to maintain the momentum. This afternoon, we're dropping the children off with their grandparents and checking into a hotel in Scottsdale. We're going to browse antique shops, enjoy fine dining, see a movie, go swimming, and just plain enjoy the silence of 24 hours without kids. I can't tell you how excited I am!
What do you do to keep the romance alive? We're planning on making our 'staycations' a quarterly event, though when I mentioned this to J's mom, she looked perplexed and asked, "What for? Isn't your anniversary enough?" {I'm sure she'll sing a different tune after a weekend with our kids!}
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That perplexed look is one we get often. Because I am going to girls camp next week I want 2 date nights this week, people look at me like I am silly, but hey its their loss not mine!
ReplyDeleteHope the staycation was divine! We are pretty regular date nighters. I think we're going to try to escape to NYC for a few days at the end of the summer.
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