18 Days of Thanks

18.  Friday night dates

It doesn’t have to be legendary.  It can just be a nice walk with a cocktail and dessert at the other end.  But the Friday night date extends the weekend, especially when the two days are jam-packed with chores and errands. 

It also makes a good end to the week if it was hectic or hard or demoralizing.  Or a great celebration for a good week.  It’s only takes an hour or two to make the week disappear and get the weekend started 12 hours early.  It can make all the difference.

This weekend for us is a bit hectic.  We are headed to Paris on Sunday for a 10 day business trip.  Saturday is filled with packing, laundry, cleaning, a bit of shopping and hopefully a trip to the gym.  The last bit will probably be written off early. 

In the months since we got married, we have instituted a monthly date night on the anniversary of our wedding.  We try and schedule it for the Friday closest to the 25^th.  This means not only a Friday night date but a seemingly long weekend.  These dates we try to make a bit more than just a wander and a dessert.  For the first, we went to an after-hours event at the Natural History Museum.  For the second, we hiked up to the Observatory and staged some photos at the Meridian for an upcoming Christmas card.  This month, we are having friends over for Thanksgiving Dinner.  This is one is a Thursday.  It’s my turn to plan, so I may add a Friday night date onto that one, if I have the energy after the dinner. 

Friday night date: £20

Time spent with spouse without TV, cleaning up, or chores: Priceless