In the midst of all the talk about the credit crunch, there’s another crisis looming: the global romantic crisis. Hard economic times have caused many of us to cut back, cut out and do without. Sadly, it’s sometimes the important stuff that often goes first. Like date nights.
In the good old days, my husband and I would have gone on a date once a month; sometimes to dinner or to the movies or to see a show. These days, it’s out of the question. By the time we’ve paid for a babysitter and dinner, we’ve forked out $100+ … money we don’t have.
Consequently, our Saturday nights have been dateless for sometime. Instead, we feed the kids, eat off our laps and watch whatever happens to be on TV – which most recently has been Wife Swap, not exactly wholesome viewing. Sometimes our nights look like this: Scotty plays on the computer, I watch TV and we retire an hour apart. Wa wah wah waaaaaah!!!!!
Last Saturday night, in our quest to rekindle the romance, I fed the kids early, put on a video (for them) and set the coffee table in the lounge room. Yes, the lounge room! Alternatively, we could have eaten outside (bit cold), moved our dining table or put a rug on the lawn to have a picnic.
Reliving our fine dining moments, I put a couple of candles on the table, dimmed the lights, cranked up Celine and poured a glass of red wine for me (red cordial for my tee-total husband).
For the next hour, we ate (left-overs on toast – keeping with the budget) and talked (a rarity considering the busy-ness of our lives). We connected again. It became a very special night.
My plan is to make every second Saturday night a date night – for us this might mean dinner in the lounge room again, a picnic in the garden or simply just watching a video in our bedroom. My advice to others: make it a priority and be creative ... it’s important!
Nicole Partridge
In the good old days, my husband and I would have gone on a date once a month; sometimes to dinner or to the movies or to see a show. These days, it’s out of the question. By the time we’ve paid for a babysitter and dinner, we’ve forked out $100+ … money we don’t have.
Consequently, our Saturday nights have been dateless for sometime. Instead, we feed the kids, eat off our laps and watch whatever happens to be on TV – which most recently has been Wife Swap, not exactly wholesome viewing. Sometimes our nights look like this: Scotty plays on the computer, I watch TV and we retire an hour apart. Wa wah wah waaaaaah!!!!!
Last Saturday night, in our quest to rekindle the romance, I fed the kids early, put on a video (for them) and set the coffee table in the lounge room. Yes, the lounge room! Alternatively, we could have eaten outside (bit cold), moved our dining table or put a rug on the lawn to have a picnic.
Reliving our fine dining moments, I put a couple of candles on the table, dimmed the lights, cranked up Celine and poured a glass of red wine for me (red cordial for my tee-total husband).
For the next hour, we ate (left-overs on toast – keeping with the budget) and talked (a rarity considering the busy-ness of our lives). We connected again. It became a very special night.
My plan is to make every second Saturday night a date night – for us this might mean dinner in the lounge room again, a picnic in the garden or simply just watching a video in our bedroom. My advice to others: make it a priority and be creative ... it’s important!
Nicole Partridge
1 comment:
Love this Nic. Well done. Left overs on toast.....too funny!
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