Date Night

While I was pregnant with our daughter, Marty and I made a commitment to each other that we would not allow ourselves to get sucked into losing our identity as individuals and bury ourselves in the life of parenthood. We decided that we needed to find something that we could do together, without baby, that would keep us communicating and participating in nurturing our relationship with one another.

What we found was the theater. I have always had a love for fine arts, specifically, performing arts. I love musicals and plays, symphonies, etc. Marty's family had raised him to appreciate the arts as well and luckily, being so close to Washington D.C. and Baltimore, we have access to great venues. We frequently caught shows at the Kennedy Center of Permforing Arts, The Mechanic Theatre, and the Meyerhoff.

We eventually became season ticket holders for Broadway Across America at the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center (http://www.france-merrickpac.com/home.html) also known as The Hippodrome. We see about 9 shows a season. We've seen shows from the classic, Phantom of the Opera, to the recent, Avenue Q. Our final show of our 5th season, is Spring Awakening.

The shows are typically once a month, September-June. What this has done is give us something that we do together. Its not our only "date night", but its something that is steady and that we can always look forward to. We usually dine at Ruth's Chris Steak House or Babablu's Grill because they offer a car service from the restaurants to the theater. We have four tickets so we usually invite another couple. That has been great because it allows us to socialize with other people. The whole evening is just a delight and it has been something that has really strengthen our marriage and our friendship!

I think that making time to be a "couple" is important in a marriage. You have to make the commitment every day to your significant other, so its important that you continue to nurture and grow with one another. For us, this has really kept us connected. We have the time to ourselves to dress up and "date" each other, we engage in great conversation at dinner with other adults, and the shows create great discussions! I've learned a lot about my husband; his humor and things that he appreciates.

The theater might not be the thing that clicks for your marriage, but whatever it is, be sure and make time for each other! You can't go wrong in any relationship when you find something that you enjoy doing together and helps you appreciate the company.