Weekly Challenge: Have the Best Boring Date Ever
Planning dates can be stressful, right? When you finally get the chance to get out with your husband, you want it to be fun. And sometimes the stress of planning gets in the way of the fun.
Last week Scott and I spent the night in Seattle. I had a speaking engagement so we took the chance to spend a little extra time together. I say this like it was such an easy task. We have eight kids at home, and they all have different places to be each day. I homeschool six of them, so it’s not easy to ever leave my house. Instead of speaking and then rushing home, we chose to just hang out. I was feeling like I hadn’t seen my husband in years, so I was pretty excited. It took a lot of planning, but we managed to get out the door by ourselves.
With all of the chaos and business in our lives, just a drive down the road feels like a little vacation. It was so nice to chat and listen to music. I promised myself that while we were away, I wouldn’t bring up the kids or any problems we needed to solve. The only thing I wanted us to decide was where to eat our meals and what movie to watch in bed. Scott ended up leaving his credit card at the restaurant we had lunch at, so we spent two extra hours driving back to pick it up. I didn’t mind, it was just nice being together. None of the kids could find us. We were blissfully alone. Doing nothing.
Bed and boring documentaries can be fun
We decided to skip dinner and just grab appetizers at the hotel. By 7:00 I was under the puffy blankets, staring at the ceiling. I couldn’t recall the last time I just rested like that. And no little knuckles were rapping on our door- well, except room service bring my husband his special foam pillows to sleep on. We spent most of the night relaxing and watching ocean documentaries. Seriously, I watched fish swim around while a guy talked about plankton, and felt like I had never been happier. I am either getting old, or really easy to please, because that is kind a lame way to spend a night away from the kids. In reality, I am not that easy to please so I guess it’s just age.
Why was I so content? Well, I was pretty tired, that’s a fact. I think more than that, I just felt happy to be hanging out with my husband with nothing to do. On paper, it looked like a pretty boring evening, but I felt totally satisfied. I stayed in that bed for fourteen hours, until I heard Scott ask if I wanted to go get coffee. “Um, YES. Coffee and a quiet breakfast sounded amazing.”
Time flies when you don’t have eight kids around you
As we drove home I felt a little panicky because I wasn’t ready to go back. I tried to talk him into turning around and heading to Mexico, but he wouldn’t listen to me. He took my hand off of the steering wheel, and reminded me we had responsibilities to tend to and people to feed and educate at home. Knowing my attempts were in vain, I gave in and let him take me back. Our day away went by too fast, but I felt pretty rested and recharged. I was, of course, happy to see the kids once we walked through the door.
I am sharing my boring date with you to inspire you to also take time away with your spouse and do nothing. Get away for a day, with no concrete plans. It does wonders if you feel frazzled or burned out. Don’t sight see or shop. Just relax and hold hands and enjoy each other’s company. I am convinced that our fast-paced culture is harmful to relationships. Let’s have long dinner conversations and time on a porch swing. Take a drive in the country
This week’s challenge: Plan something boring! I bet you’ll find that it’s more relaxing, and less boring. Just spend time hanging out and reconnecting with your husband.
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