What comes to mind when you hear the phrase “Date Night”? A romantic dinner? An quiet evening at home? An action comedy starring Steve Carell and Tina Fey? Something you vaguely remember from before your marriage?
Date Night can mean a lot of different things, but it is an important part of growing together. Dating allows a couple to share conversations and experiences that otherwise get lost in the day-to-day hassle. And while there are no Date Night rules, today’s post attempts to implement a few to clarify things a bit.
What constitutes a date night?
- Attending a sports event does not count as a date unless you are both equally avid fans. (Matching face paint is pretty cool, though.)
- While dates do not have to be expensive, catching the free food samples at places like Sam’s Club or Costco does not count as dinner.
- Shopping is not a valid date night activity. Shopping is torture.
- Any event or trip that includes changing diapers or doing homework does not qualify as a date night.
- Both partners must be present to qualify as a date night. (Poker night with the guys while she goes shopping is not a date night.)
- If one of you is on your cell phone most of the evening, it’s not a date night.
- Folding laundry together does not count as a date night.
But seriously: Do you make time for you and your spouse to be alone together? Are we sometimes guilty of making time for everyone else except our spouse?
What did we miss? Anything else that should not be allowed to count as a Date Night?
I can’t wait to be able to have these with my wife again. It’s been difficult for us to have them since we usually work different schedules and no longer have family around to help watch the kids so we can do them. I really do miss having date nights.
Thanks for sharing!
I know what you mean about the schedules. My wife and I had a time when we would merely pass each other on the way to work. Best of luck to you, Grady.
One more that doesn’t count…being in the same room, but doing different things. Often times I will curl up on the couch with a book while Carlos watches soccer. It’s nice because we’re next to each other, often times I’m laying on his shoulder, but it doesn’t count as a date if you’re not sharing the activity.
We try to do two-three dates a month and we can always tell when it’s been too long. Even if it’s just running to Dairy Queen together, that alone time set aside from everyone else is important.
Good catch, Danni! That should definitely be on the list. Simply being in the same room is not enough. Of course, now you’ve got me craving a Dairy Queen Blizzard. 🙂