Daytime Dating

Who’s got two thumbs and loves going on dates with her husband? This girl.

As a homeschooling mama, I spend nearly every waking moment with my darling children; therefore, I feel no guilt at all in occasionally leaving them with a sitter (whom they adore) so Handsome Husband and I can have some PEACE and QUIET.

I generally find the trickiest part about going on a date is navigating the simple logistics of getting out the door… To procure a sitter willing to make the trek to the homestead and relieve us of parental duty, though she likely has three competing offers already on the table and a demanding social calendar beckoning like a siren.

Guess who wants to go out on a Friday night? Everyone. Also? The sitter.

Solution: The Daytime Date.

More specifically, the weekend morning date…

We routinely request our sitters to clock in at 9am on a Saturday. Not only is it less difficult to compete for the sitter’s time, but we find we actually break away from the rote “dinner and a movie” script for our outing. Plus? We are old and can’t stay up late anymore. It’s just biology. #inconvenienttruth.

Once, we spent the morning kayaking the Columbia River. Another time, we biked to our favorite brunch spot in downtown Bozeman. Several times we have just grabbed coffee and gone shopping (in peace!). When we were blessed to live in the fertile Willamette Valley we would often spend the earlier part of the day vineyard-hopping– and I didn’t even drink!

Most recently, we hit the local day spa for a well-earned [Husband] couple’s massage, and decadent breakfast to follow. (Anniversary + Father’s Day + heaps of back-breaking yard-work all in one week = professional massages, obvi.)

Hiking with The Hubs is another favorite pastime, but doing so after dark in bear country is neither safe nor legal. Book the sitter in the morning and beat the suckers families with kiddos to the trails!

I find we generally burn more calories, spend less money, and enjoy richer conversation when we choose to buck the system and schedule our dates during the daytime instead of the evening.

Try it! (But only if you don’t steal our sitter.)