Request Newsletter | Bridal Online Website | Return To Main Page

Marriage & Wedding Information


To Stay Married, Keep Dating


One of my favorite memories from last year was not watching my young daughters rip into their Christmas presents, or seeing them perform in the school talent show. No, my happiest recollection was the date my husband and I went out on one stormy Tuesday night in November.

A few days before, we'd had our fill of running the girls to swimming lessons and fighting with them to do their homework. We could not endure the sight of one more PTA notice requesting money for this fundraiser or attendance at that meeting. We broke. We called a sitter and reserved a table at the most elegant restaurant in town.

And what a night it was. The sitter was late, of course, and the wind snapped off tree branches and hurled them at our car, but we made it. The food, the wine, and the service were fine. We put the children firmly out of our minds. By the time the salad came, we were sufficiently unwound.

We started having fun. We were laughing. The subjects of the weird charge on our cell phone bill or our dire need for a new refrigerator never entered the discussion. We were transformed into the couple we used to be before children, two cars, and a mortgage. We were footloose, fancy free, and out for a good time.

The happiness of that evening stayed with us for many days. We were attentive to one another. We remembered why we'd gotten married and were glad for it, proving my mother's advice that happy couples continue to date each other forever.

"It's important," she'd say.

But, in the early years of our marriage, I'd make excuses. Diaper and formula bills left little money for nights out on the town. It was impossible to find a good babysitter. It was selfish of us to take time away from the children.

"Make it a priority," my mother would respond. "Children are the result of the marriage, not the reason for it."

Like a lot of couples, my husband and I had forgotten that. We'd completely wrapped ourselves up in our children and their needs. We started losing sight of each other, but we knew that if we didn't make time for our relationship, our children would grow up and we'd be left behind, looking at each other and wondering, "Who the heck is this person?"

So we decided to make it a goal to go out on a date once a month (once a week is better, according to my mother), and I heartily recommend you do the same. If you're a woman and your husband is reluctant, don't guilt trip him into "taking" you out. You're not luggage. Instead, remind him that you love him, and tell him that you miss having him to yourself. That should convince him.

I'm not going to pretend it's ever easy to squeeze a date onto a calendar of never-ending responsibilities. It isn't. My husband and I had dinner plans tonight, but we had to cancel due to an event at our daughters' school. It's disappointing, but it won't deter us. We'll just reschedule our night out for next week.

We've made it a priority because, as my mother counseled, our happy marriage depends on it.

Terry Hernon MacDonald is the author of "How to Attract and Marry the Man of Your Dreams." Visit her website at http://www.marrysmart.com .


MORE RESOURCES:

Certified Vacations Group, Inc. & CaribbeanWeddings.Com Announce ...
MarketWatch - 8 hours ago
Under terms of the partnership, Certified Vacations will launch a new CaribbeanWeddings.com brand offering complete travel and destination wedding planning ...


Gay Rights Protest Planned For Gov. Crist's Wedding
Tampa Tribune, FL - 1 hour ago
Charlie Crist's wedding to Carole Rome this month. The group Impact-Florida has called on its members to gather in pink T-shirts outside First United ...
Group Plans To Protest Crist's Wedding CBS 4
Gay rights group to protest at Crist's wedding WWSB ABC 7
Gay Rights Group To Protest At Crist's Wedding Central Florida News 13|
Tampabay.com - Palm Beach Post
all 24 news articles


Discounts, New Client Specials at Lather Hair Salon Grand Opening
MarketWatch - 7 hours ago
RALEIGH, NC, Dec 01, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Lather Hair Salon, a premiere full service salon specializing in on-location wedding designs and total ...


San Jose's landmark glass rotunda draws all kinds of crowds
San Jose Mercury News,  USA - 11 hours ago
By John Woolfolk The rotunda at San Jose's City Hall, which is often rented out for weddings and other private events, is readied for a wedding reception ...


NEWS.com.au

Wedding day marks couples' first kiss
ABC15.com (KNXV-TV), AZ - 6 hours ago
When Melody LaLuz and Claudaniel Fabien stood and faced each other on the altar over the weekend, the blushing bride and new groom shared more than wedding ...
Now you may kiss the bride Chicago Sun-Times
Jockstrip: The world as we know it. United Press International
Chicago couple wait for first kiss at the altar The Associated Press
Chicago Tribune - Chicago Sun-Times
all 283 news articles


Finding a Great Wedding Photographer
American Chronicle, CA - 4 hours ago
Surely you have heard this expression before and it is never more true than at a wedding. The pictures are the permanent record of the celebration that is ...


E! Online

No wedding bells for Orlando Bloom and Miranda Kerr
Examiner.com - 9 hours ago
by Jennifer Lewis, Los Angeles Celebrity Examiner On Sunday, the Australian newspaper The Sunday Telegraph reported that the two had got engaged and were ...
Orlando Bloom & Miranda Kerr not engaged RTE.ie
Report: Orlando Bloom and Miranda Kerr set to marry ChattahBox
Orlando Bloom: I’m not engaged to Miranda Kerr Now Magazine Online
Los Angeles Times - Boston Herald
all 101 news articles


BBC News

Wedding wings of love for couple
BBC News, UK - Nov 30, 2008
A couple in Greater Manchester had a wedding with a difference when the rings were flown in by a special guest. Fudge the barn owl flew onto the arm of ...
Owl makes the wedding day Manchester Evening News
all 2 news articles


Wedding Paper Divas Offers Chance to Win Free Wedding Invitations ...
PR Web (press release), WA - 14 hours ago
Wedding Paper Divas (www.weddingpaperdivas.com), a leading online retailer of premium, customizable wedding stationery, announced today the launch of its ...


TaleTela

Naomi’s rep denies wedding to Russian billionaire
Screen Weekly, India - 14 hours ago
Claims of the model planning a small, low-key wedding, with just close friends and family surfaced especially after she asked them to keep themselves free ...
Naomi Campbell dismisses Russian wedding reports Catwalk Queen
NAOMI CAMPBELL - CAMPBELL 'NOT PLANNING RUSSIAN WEDDING' Contactmusic.com
Naomi's PDA of leaves crowd gagging Times of India
Now Magazine Online - Mirror.co.uk
all 25 news articles

Wedding - Google News

home | site map

Site Map | Site Map | Links

© 2006