Date Night

Thanks for your kind comments when I was feeling down yesterday. Somehow it really helps me feel understood to know that my friends can empathize and relate to those kind of days too. So thank you. You all really helped lift my spirits. :)

Today was amazing. I had the opportunity to take some wonderful young women rock climbing, and thankfully there were no fatalities. The girls did great! It was a wonderful bonding experience for all of us. I love taking long trips with these girls. They just really open up and I can get a better understanding of their needs, and the complexities of their lives. I just love them all and I'm amazed at how strong they are despite the tempations and pressures they face on a daily basis.

I was able to do some rock climbing too... for the first time! I was terrified, which is weird, because I went skydiving last year. The reason I went skydiving was to help conquer my fear of heights, but apparently that didn't work! So anyway, we got to the park very early, and it was freezing, but I kept thinking it would warm up... but it just kept getting colder and colder until it started SNOWING!!! It's only October 10th! I think it's going to be a looong winter here in Wisconsin. Anyway, so my fingers were completely numb, which made getting a good grip on the rocks a challenge... as if it wasn't already hard enough. I wasn't very good, but it was sure fun! And I loved cheering the girls on.

Then I got home and spent a little time with my sweet chillins, and then Jon and I drove to the Chicago temple for a wonderful date night. Our date nights had been becoming pretty sporatic, especially during the move. But we found a great babysitter here, and we decided just to commit to make it happen every week. I believe that quality time AWAY together is SO healthy for a marriage... and for the kids too. It can get a little spendy, but we try to cut back on other expenditures in order to invest in our marriage.

So we have one night a week that is designated as our date night. What we're doing differently now is to have it prescheduled every week. So our babysitter just comes on the same evening at the same time every week. That way, it's always planned, so if we want to cancel it, we need to make the effort to call and cancel as opposed to making the effort every week to try to find a time that works, and a schedule a time with a babysitter who happens to be available. It's the best. We have some exciting things planned including Latin dance classes coming up soon. Yay! And we have a date night jar with random ideas in it to keep things spontaneous and fun.

So after a day away, life is good again. I missed the kids sooo much, and thanks to the trip to the temple, I feel completely renewed, recharged and ready to take on a new day tomorrow.