Dating My Husband

When Chad and I started dating, we went out in Tuesdays while the kids were with their dad because that was the only day we had off and I didn’t have to pay a sitter. Within a few months, Chad was laid off from his job and my regular sitter had health problems, so he started wanting the kids while I worked a late training shift at a new job. Then, we got married and jumped into life as a married couple with three kids. At some point, we stopped dating as we struggled to survive paying for daycare and other household bills on $11 an hour each as the child support payments stopped for a few years. We simply stopped making our marriage a priority. 

Within the last few years, we have started to realize that we need to rediscover who we are as a couple. This time we need to figure out who we are separate from the kids. In the meantime, I have become more social and realized that other couples are able to take trips and do other things without their kids. 

In 2020, we started taking trips without the kids. It started as a few trips to the mountains while Sean and Noel were with their dad and Eric got to stay home with the dogs. Since then, we have gone to Mesa Verde, Mount Rushmore, and the Great Sand Dunes. Each trip has been good in a different way. 

Recently, we have established date night again. Once again, we go out on Tuesdays. With Chad’s work schedule, it is the best time for us to go. Most of the time, we play tennis or pickle ball at nearby courts. We have also gone car shopping and out for ice cream. We have a deal that the person who loses the most weight over the past week gets to choose what we do, and it works out for the most part. He is much better at planning dates than I am. (I seriously chose to go fan shopping at Walmart last week.) 

I’m not sure how this will evolve when it starts to get cold, but I am glad that we have set aside time to be with each other on a regular basis.