The Beauty of a Date Night

I remember back before the days of having a child, when I had big opinions about motherhood and childrearing, etc. In other words, back in the day when I knew everything. Ahem.


I remember listening to my friends talk amongst each other and say things like, "I just wish I had one night out with my husband without having to tend to my child first." Or, "If only we could have an uninterrupted conversation, etc."


Most of these women were stay-at-home Moms. I used to listen to their conversations in awe. I have to be honest with you and confess right now that I thought they must have been the most selfish people in the world. A stay-at-home Mom should have nothing to complain about. She's got the easiest job in the world..you know, she doesn't have to work! Besides, who cares if she has to tend to her child before herself? How selfish. She should be honored to eat cold food every night, with limited adult conversation time. Being a Mother is the highest calling! She should do it with pride!

Then I became a Mother. And my viewpoint suddenly changed.

Now you know I love every minute of being a mother. And I love the fact that I'm able to stay home. This is a huge blessing. And we have and still do scrimp and save and sacrifice a lot for this to be able to happen. But let me also say, cold food does nothing for me personally. I do not enjoy it one bit. And I should have been slapped for thinking that a stay at home Mom was the easiest job in the world. I've absolutely never worked harder! And now I also understand the need to be able to have an uninterrupted conversation. Just being able to finish one or two sentences without having to answer a question that begins with "why?" And, on a note that doesn't sound so selfish...I love spending quality time with Jason. Just the two of us. Trust me when I say, it doesn't happen often. But I believe it's absolutely vital to a healthy marriage.

Friday night was date night. We had a wonderful time, and we tried very hard to find things to talk about that didn't include Bayli, adoption or ministry. We talked almost non-stop for over 5 hours. And we got to eat our food when it was still hot...steam and all!

And the most amazing thing happened. Sometime mid-morning on Saturday I realized that the 150+ questions that had already been asked didn't bother me in the least. I was refreshed and ready for all of the excessive talking and question asking.

I'm suddenly all about date night. I can't wait for the next one...(hint! hint! to the guy who needs to do the asking! :)

Face for Grace,
Holly