Our Date Day

We hear all the time about the importance of date nights in order to keep marriages healthy and strong. These date nights become even more important and crucial when a couple has kids, because they are now dividing their time and attention between even more people, and it's often the marriage that gets put on the back burner.

Matt and I don't have kids. That doesn't take away from the importance we have put on Matt & Laura dates though. With my busy business and Matt's full time job and triathlon training, we have full plates. Kids or not, our lives are busy and our time together often feels limited. One of our joint resolutions this year is to take at a minimum, monthly date nights. Time to focus on each other, get out of the house, and do something different.

Last weekend though, Matt had a Date Day idea. He heard from someone that you can find agates along the shoreline of local lakes, because the ice pushes rocks up onto the shore. So, on a balmy 40 degree day, we headed to Round Lake and walked out on the ice.

We looked for agates on the shoreline, and found some pretty rocks. My attention span for rock picking was used up, so I made a snowman in the sticky snow. And then, I laid down in the snow and stared up at the crystal clear blue sky and the bare tree that was growing out over the water. I breathed in the crisp air and let myself just be. I haven't ever meditated before, although I've been curious about it. I think this was as close to meditation as I've come.