Well… even with a newborn and some ups and downs and setbacks and even when we couldn’t make it out of the house… we did accomplish the goal of a date night a month.

The dates were pretty great. From typical dinner and a movie nights to goal setting at home with a bottle of wine, to finally getting ourselves to the Musical Instrument Museum.

Having a monthly date night at minimum was one of the things stressed the most both in our pre-marital counseling (a requirement in the Catholic church before you get married and so helpful!) and in our Engaged Encounter weekend. I didn’t realize why it was harped on so much until we started struggling to make them happen. We had very few nights out together without our son in 2016 and we could feel the strain of that. And here’s what I have to say to encourage anyone who is struggling to set aside time with their significant other: More important than where we went or what we did during our dates was what we learned and how we felt being together just the two of us, not as business partners or “mom and dad” but as a couple again. We sacrificed and budgeted for this time together and it might be one of the best investments we could have made. We faced some challenges this year and our time together to connect and talk it out made a big difference in being able to face those challenges together instead of allowing them to drive us apart. I’m really grateful for those few hours a month to focus on what matters most to us and while I know we have more hard work ahead, I think the fruits from this year of focusing on dating will continue well into our future together. Maybe next year we’ll even manage a trip away! It’s worth dreaming about, right?

Speaking of… more about dreaming as I continue the 2017 wrap up next post 🙂