We started a tradition this year that I really, really hope becomes an annual thing, because it was just So. Much. Fun.

  Usually for Valentines Day, Randy and I always love being able to get away on a date, just the two of us, and take some time to re-connect.  And I think even after kids come along (make that ESPECIALLY after kids come along) it is still very important to do so.  How sad would that be if we let life and all its priorities crowd in until there wasn't much room left for us?  Pretty sad.


    But we really enjoy spending time together as a family too, and why should it always have to be one or the other?  So this year, we decided to try both.  And it was just about perfect.  Friday night was spent together as a family, and Saturday was our turn to go out alone.  Win/win.

   It certainly took some time getting ready, baths and showers and hair and painting three sets of nails and toenails, but it was so worth it.  The girls wore their new dresses from Grandma and I even allowed them to wear a little bit of pink lipstick, it being such a special occasion and all.




Here's hoping all of your Valentines' Days were special and unique and memory-making.

Dear New Mom (Who Loves her Husband but Doesn't Want to Go out this Weekend),
  
I get it.

   It's that Valentine-y time of the year again, and you're feeling the pressure.  Whoever thought that only guys felt the pressure of Valentines Day obviously never took a survey of any new moms.

  You know you should be wanting to go on that date.  Wanting an excuse to dig those heels out of the closet and head out for a night on the town.  But all you really, truly want to do is throw on a pair of sweats and shoo all of the kids into bed so you can sit down on the couch with some chocolate and watch an overly-emotional Parenthood finale re-run.

I get it because I was there.  Not all that long ago.

   I was in the thick of nursing and newborns and getting-up-every-few-hours and diapers and laundry and messes that seemed to reproduce at night, and going on a fancy date seemed as appealing as scratching my eyeballs out with steel wool.

It just felt like I was never going to want to date again.

  But before the kids and the strollers and the nighttime feedings.....things were different.  Before we ever walked down that aisle on that beautiful April day, said our vows and began procreating, I loved dating.

   My husband was definitely "one of those guys".  Always coming up with the most creative, romantic, unique, fun, amazing dates.  We went on scavenger hunts, hikes, bike rides and walks along the beach.  We enjoyed plays and comedians and picnics by waterfalls.  We drank coffee and browsed bookstores and ate at lovely restaurants that made me feel much classier than I actually am.  He surprised me endlessly with flowers and chocolates and special little gifts and everything felt a little bit like a fairytale.

   And getting ready was one of the best parts.  The evening never seemed to arrive fast enough as I deliberated over outfits spread all over my room.  I fussed with my hair and makeup, spraying perfume and trying on shoes and hoping to get everything just right.  And then....that giddy little feeling when you see his car pull into the drive!  He was here! And you were going out! And all was right with the world.

   Don't get me wrong, it's not that after marrying him and bearing him children that I loved him any less.  In fact, I'm more and more certain with each passing year that I love him MORE.

   But there is still no way around the fact that when you have been wiping spit up off of your shoulder and vacuuming up Cheerios and stumbling around in your sleep-deprived, zombie-like state all day.....dating loses some of its appeal.

    Suddenly a "night-in" doesn't sound anything remotely like "giving up" like I used to think it meant.  It just sounds like a divine appointment with your over-sized sweat shirt and yoga pants and a sexy back massage.  Which to a postpartum woman is pretty much as fancy as you would ever want to get anyway.

And so I guess I say all this to say.......take it easy on yourself.

   If you choose to stay home?  You're not a failure.  Your marriage isn't doomed.  You're not becoming "one of those moms" you never said you would become.  It's OK.  It's a fleeting stage, and it will pass. I know because it changed for me.  And dates sound wonderful and delightful and enticing again, and I even like wearing heels!  So those days will come sooner than you think.  This time of newborns?  Of feeling like a milk machine and auto-pilot robot?  It won't last forever.  And so cut yourself some slack, and stay home if you have to.  You will look forward to dating again, I promise.

   And if you choose to go out?  Good for you! Bravo.  You've done yourself a favor, even if it doesn't feel like it.  It really is so important to carve out that "you-and-me time" with your man, even when a baby is sucking your every resource dry.  You might be checking your phone every 15 minutes to make sure that baby is OK, or worried about leaking through your brand-new dress, but everything is going to be fine.  No one is judging you if you try your best to relax and enjoy yourself but find yourself wanting to cry half of the time.  HORMONES ARE REAL.  

   So just take a deep breath and realize that fancy date or not, it's going to be OK.  You still love each other, you have a beautiful life, and life is too short to freak out over a different phase.  Each phase is fleeting, and beautiful in its own uniquely different, and sometimes difficult, ways.

We aren't all giddy, dating singles.
We aren't all glowing, blushing newlyweds.

   But we still LOVE.  Deeply, passionately, tenderly.  We balance budgets and pay mortgages and step on Legos and find fruit snacks in our purse, but we are still lovers.  We are best friends and companions and help-meets and spouses and MEANT FOR EACH OTHER.  And nothing changes that.  Even if date nights change.

Sincerely,
Me.


Inspiration for this post was found from a picture about date night by Angi Martin on Instagram. 

   For those of you getting in a sappy romantic mood with the upcoming Valentine's holiday and wanting a little mush to read…..the lovely Amber Hutchins  asked me to be a part of a Valentine's series of couples sharing their stories.  I was honored and delighted to participate!

   It was so good to take that walk down memory lane again…..the whole story so reflects the sovereignty of God to turn even our mistakes and shortcomings into happy endings.  And my how we've changed!