Why We Gave Up on Datenight

It comes down to one simple reason.

I’m tired.

I think it goes with the territory for, oh, twenty years or so when you are a parent.

When our boys were little, only my husband or I could put them down for the night. So we’d plan to have a friend or a babysitter come over after they fell asleep.

So on a Friday night, at the end of a tiring week, I’d hurry around tugging little bodies into footy pajamas and trying to read stories WHILE curling my hair. (Well, practically anyway.)

I’d put them to bed—fervently hoping they’d fall asleep easily—and then change into real clothes without making a sound. I’d make sure the house didn’t look like a wreck for the sitter, and then Ryan, who was working long hours, would get home right as the sitter arrived, and we’d head out into the night.

I’m sure I was great company on those dates. Exhausted but wearing enough concealer to cover the bags under my eyes, my body filled with the tension of getting everything just right before we left.

To top it off, we we were paying money to relax without kids—which we would have been doing at home anyway, with the kids breathing deeply in the other room.

Then the day date was born.

We could pay a babysitter and actually get a break from the childrearing for a few hours. She would give them lunch and wipe sticky hands while Ryan and I would, for once, eat lunch without half of it ending up on the floor. Or we would go on a bike ride or on a hike, things you can’t easily do on a Friday night.

I’d have energy and we’d come home happy to see our kids, having had just enough time to miss them.

So now we spend our Friday nights at home with our no-bake cookies, hulu plus, books, and Ted talks.

We’ll leave datenight to the parents with more energy. 🙂

Station 22, a cafe we stole away to for a quick day date last time we were in Utah.

Click here for a post I wrote two years ago, right about when we discovered the day date. 🙂 10 Ways to Keep Dating—Even After You Have Kids. 

Are you still rocking datenight? 

Linked up with Grace at Home and On Your Heart.