Date night: We are away from the kids, now what?

The stars must be perfectly aligned. For the first time in forever, you found a night that you and your partner are both available. There are no games, appointments, or playdates scheduled and the babysitter is finally available. You are all set for the night you’ve both been waiting for – date night! Woohoo!

Now what?

For us, a free night happened so infrequently that we weren’t sure what to do next. That feeling of “okay we are alone, now what?” would quickly set in.

We knew one thing…we wanted to pack 6 months’ worth of fun into 4 hours or less. Where do we go? What do we do? And most importantly, what do we talk about other than the kids?

Our lives had been filled with kid-related activities for years. So, carving out some time for us was unchartered waters but something we were determined to master.

The first order of business was having a solid plan. We tried to avoid the “What do you want to do? No, what do you want to do?" scenario. The babysitter was on the clock, so we had to sneak out of the door, act fast and get the party started.

Then came the ground rules: We must be in the present moment and forget about anything parent or work-related. There would be no talk of bills, bosses, kids or pets. Just us.

Our date nights usually involved dinner and some type of fun activity (a.k.a. anything other than washing dishes or doing laundry). We mutually love lively restaurants filled with other people trying to get away from their kids. So, we started there. Personally, I didn’t care about the cuisine, there just needed to be anyone other than me cooking and cleaning.

Over dinner instead of rehashing the kid's daily schedule, we tried to keep it light. Sometimes we would play a game like “if you had unlimited funds, where would you travel?” A girl’s gotta dream!

Other times we would make believe it was our first date enjoying all the confused looks when people would see our wedding rings. Hopefully, we didn’t inspire any tawdry affairs.

My other prerequisite was doing something active. The goal was to connect with my husband, not sit in a crowded movie in silence. This would involve something like going to a golf range or a karaoke bar. Our latest jaunt was axe throwing. There’s nothing like getting out a little aggression with the one you love.

Lastly, we would do the things that married couples often forget. We would really see each other, listen, hold hands, kiss, hug, and laugh. You know, the things everyone replaces with sarcasm and impatience.

The moral of our date night story is that it’s our story. Yours may look very different but the key is to reconnect and enjoy every second. Then back to reality!