Your personal definition of what a date is, or what quality family time is, can open the throttle wide open or choke it down until it dies.
Change your definition of a date, from some time when you experience the rush or excitement of spending money, to the gentle pleasure of getting to know each other better.
Redefine a date to include times at home.
Maybe a cup of tea or home-brewed coffee with your mate (or your child!) in that secluded corner of your backyard or patio.
Maybe a family night, like a Friday evening when the young children could stay up a little later than normal, watch a family movie, buy a pizza for dinner, or have popcorn and lemon aid for a snack. Remember: tradition warms the heart.
It isn’t what you do,
Or where you go,
Or how much you spend,
Or how fancy you dress that makes it a date. It is your attitude that makes it a date.
You can dress up, spend lots of $$$, go see a show on a stage, and go out afterwards to eat and it NOT be a date if your attitude is wrong. Ever been on one of those?
It’s a bore….It’s a chore!
And honestly, you can be working hard in your yard together, stop for lunch and a deliciously refreshing glass of iced tea, and when your eyes meet you freeze…and you both unexpectedly giggle a bit.
Friends, those are not chores you’re doing….that’s a date!
Redefine it!….Acknowledge it!….Enjoy it!….and Remember it!
When you redefine what a date IS in your mind, the possibilities become almost limitless. Most of us had parents or grandparents that were not financially well-off. What did they do for a date?
Found a place to park, and look at the view, and dream about the future out loud…
Went for a soda…
Went for a walk…
Went roller skating or bowling…
Now, obviously, not everybody at the bowling alley is on a date. But a few ARE.
And my guess is, everyone of you could tell which ones.
It’s in their eyes…because it’s in their attitude.