Why You Need to Invest in Date Time
What is one secret from the “10 Secrets of Happy Couples” according to PsychCentral? Happy couples invest in date time and spend quality time together. It isn’t that they spend all of their time together, they still have separate interests as well. But, couples have to make time for each other. It is all too easy to put each other’s needs aside during the busy seasons of life – like after having kids and when pressed by other responsibilities like work or aging parents.
It is so easy when you are first in love to make time for each other. For one, all you want to do is be together. Two, you usually don’t have a ton of other commitments. Three, you are still in the heady infatuation of the first year of love.
You Invest Time in Everything Else, But You Don’t Invest in Date Time
When it gets tough is when it becomes an effort to have time for just the two of you. Whether through the demands on your time described above or the fact you think you already know everything there is to know about the other. You assume this is an area you have already invested in and don’t need to devote a lot of time to anymore.
However, just like everything else in life, the two of you are constantly changing. This is why you really do need to find ways to spend time together. Where it can be the two of you as a couple again and not have to be Mom and Dad as well- which can be a romance killer.
Okay, so want to have time as a couple, but you don’t have the time to plan anything on top of everything else. What do you do? Luckily, once you make the time to invest in date time there are plenty of resources to help you in the planning area.
Favorite Resources for Couples
There is a site devoted to couples and date time called “The Dating Divas”. Their tagline is “Strengthening Marriages, One Date at a Time”. They want to help you make the most of your time together and also make it super easy for you to do so. They have a lot of products to check out and printables (some of which are free and some you have to pay for).
The Dating Divas has ideas for:
Stay at Home Dates
They have so many ideas for date ideas when you can’t leave your house because of kids or lack of funds. These ideas are fun and enable you to still connect and make memories as a couple.
If you want to put yourself in the mood for romance, you could check out the following “Escape Pods” together:
Outlander – Jamie, Claire and Scotland
These are all great shows with strong female leads who weather the ups and downs of relationships.
Date Nights – “Passport to Love”
True story – I got this for my husband as an anniversary gift. And, it is so much fun to put together and to actually complete the 12 dates (one special one per month).
Ideas for Dates Outside the House
They have come up with a slew of ideas to keep you entertained outside the house aside from the same old dinner and a movie. (Arcades, bowling, chocolate tour, embarrassing dares at the mall, etc.) They are truly creative and fun ideas to have some laughs and have fun again together.
Any one of these would be an ideal way to begin to reconnect with each other if it has been a while. The key is to devote at least an hour a week to just the two of you. You can use this time to check in on how you are both evolving individually and together. And, remember why you fell in love in the first place and have fun!
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