Brian and I will be celebrating our 29th wedding anniversary in August.  We make date night an important part of our relationship, and try to have one at least once a week.  It gives us quiet time together (depending on where we go that is!), and keeps the romance in our relationship.  We have two grown children and three grandchildren.  Currently, our daughter and one of our grandsons lives with us.  Our son and his family, including our other two grandsons, live in the same city.  Needless to say, we spend lots of time with our grand-kids, love ’em to the moon and back, but grandparents need to refresh and recharge!

When we are at home, many conversations revolve around family.  When we are out on a “date night”, we make an effort to keep the conversation about each other.  We make plans, talk about our day, and just enjoy being “us”.   It doesn’t matter where we go, and it doesn’t even have to cost anything.  Our “date nights” are sometimes during the day! 

Yesterday, Brian loaded our bikes in the back of our pick-up and didn’t tell me where we were going (element of surprise; another great date night/day tip!).  He took us to a lovely park with biking trails and we had a great time.  We sat on a bench by the river, tried to take a picture of ourselves with his cell, but I got such a laughing fit, my mascara started running.  Needless to say, the picture never happened, but being giddy was just pure joy.  We all need to laugh like that more often.  As we rode back to the truck, the sky opened up and it started pouring. It was so much fun riding in the rain, we really didn’t care about the weather.  Thankfully, we didn’t get struck by lightening!!  

God is so good, and by putting Him first in our relationship and our lives, we are abundantly blessed.  That doesn’t mean we haven’t had our challenges and trials to walk through, but building a strong relationship over time, through exercising good communication and making sure “together time” happens is key.  Building that strength in a relationship takes work, and with God’s guidance we continue to enjoy a happy, healthy “us”.

What are some of your date night suggestions and tips?  Where have you been recently?