Mark and I jetted off to the lovely Las Vegas, NV over the weekend. We are on our return trip home now! Las Vegas wasn’t exactly my first choice for a getaway, but given the Zika circumstances nearly anywhere tropical coupled with the fact that Mark had a work conference in Vegas anyway, I gave in and said book it. I’m not the gambling, drinking type, but I am up for entertainment, good food, wandering & shopping, people watching and s l e e p i n g i n. Trust me, we savored the sleep + wandered vegas by foot (<– though Mark a little gimpy!) + experienced the city through food. ?
We needed this time together. As I mentioned last week, I’ve been too far off the survival mode deep end and so this little getaway was that time and space we needed to draw back into each other. It will allowed us to spend less time on day-to-day logistics and took my hands off the dishwasher loading tetras game I play to give us actual undivided attention for our marriage.
Talk Daily, Date Weekly, Retreat Yearly
Mark and I use this advice as a baseline. My sweet husband isn’t on the same level of conversationalist as I am, but he gives such a good effort in order for me to fulfill my chatty needs. We talk to each other each day and make sure to connect through real conversation – not just going through the motions.
If we can date or retreat more often than the baseline/recommendation, we do. If our weekly dates can’t always be out of the house, we still make them happen in some capacity. {Though we both fell asleep on our in-home date night the week before our trip. ? Happens to the best of us, right?} If we couldn’t afford to retreat to some destination, we would make a staycation possible. Our marriage is important to us – and as with anything important, it takes time and effort to keep it alive. Even if it means taking a work conference and making it a getaway.
In preparing for our trip we ran into a little chaos, because let’s face it, with children there’s always something going on. But, I made it a priority to fit in two treats for myself before our departure – getting my eyebrows threaded and nails painted. It made me feel like I was really taking time for me, and us. There’s just something about those two things that make me feel so much more put together. Brows and nails, I tell you. Such a luxury.
The luxury of the full nights of sleep we were getting and the peaceful meals together may be ending, but we are eagerly awaiting the reunion with our little girls tonight. By investing in our relationship, we are coming home refreshed and more ready to take on life with two little kids.
I encourage you to take a little time to spend with your spouse this week or even plan a date for this weekend! You will both be better for it.
XO