A Much Needed Date

Yes, I went on a date tonight, with a charming man.  Of course he happens to be my husband, but everyone needs to date, especially after marriage.  I think it's so easy to forget that.  We get busy, especially with three kids pulling us in every which direction, and when we finally remember, we have to nail down a babysitter, come up with a plan, and spend the afternoon prepping the kids and the house to be gone.  And I wonder why we don't get out much.

But tonight, thanks to our wonderful friends, Joyce and Tim, we were able to escape.  And even if it was for just a couple of hours, it was worth it, refreshing, exciting.  I was reminded of why I married this man, why I devote my heart to him, why I spent the last 4 years of my life multiplying out our lives by having 3 beautiful children.  No matter how stressful and cluttered life gets, it's important to invest in the people around us, and for me, the most important relationship in my life (aside from my relationship with God) is my husband, Neil.

We spent our evening in Ellicott City, a quaint little town that sadly seems to shut down at like 5 pm.  In fact, we found ourselves dining at the EC Brewing Company.  Beer was good.  Food was okay, probably not a great value over all, but the conversation made up for it (oh and the beer was good).  Then we strolled up and down (literally) Frederick Ave window shopping (since the stores all close so stinkin' early...I said that already, didn't I?)  Actually we were in search of a place to have dessert.  Well, he wanted dessert, I wanted coffee.  We ended up at a little cafe called Bean Hollow where he got this chocolately croissant thing (as close to Baklava as he could get) and I got Cafe Au Lait, which I forgot to order decaf.  Yep, I'll pay for that later.

After dessert, we walked to the bridge, which crosses over the Patapsco River and talked about everything from life passions to parenthood to sex.  Neil might not be a man of many words, but he does listen. And lately I feel like my life has been on fast forward, it was nice to slow down for a bit and process, to connect the dots a bit.  One of the attributes that annoys me the most and yet draws me in all at the same time is Neil's wisdom.  It might take him forever to make a decision, as opposed to my split second reactions, but when he makes it, I can trust that it will be the absolute best decision for that situation.  Sometimes I get so focused on the annoying part, the waiting, that I forget to trust the process.

All in all, a good date, and one that was very much needed.