My Valentine Illusions

Have you ever been out to eat at a nice restaurant and taken a look around the room to see what the people at the other tables are doing? The family in the corner trying to keep the baby quiet and the toddler in his chair and eating. The dating youngsters who walk in holding hands and sit next to each other in the booth; both full of smiles and good conversation.

The couple who catches my imagination sits at their table, not saying much and hardly making eye-contact. This couple scares me, because I don't want to become that couple! (Though my own table conversation apparently isn't keeping my attention if I'm browsing the dining room.) I wonder if they are empty nesters, having spent years doing much for their children and not enough for each other.

My kids are nearly six and seven, but even in these few, quick years of parenting, I can relate in some ways to the last couple. Often times, the best of me is used up by evening when my husband comes home from work. We're not good about scheduling a regular date night. Television is an easy distraction for the last hour or two of our day.

"You can't keep doing what you're doing and expect different results." Dr. Phil (I think)

"You either get better or worse. You cannot stay the same." Pastor Brady Boyd

I think these quotes apply to marriage very well. So my personal challenge this month, is to let go of the "perfect" Valentines' experience and invest some energy into my marriage experience. I'll blog more with ideas & related articles. - Tiffany