Date Night - Northern Lights

Any King worth his salt knows that he has to keep his Queen happy in order to have a successful reign. I may like to watch my pennies, but I also know it’s important not to take my life partner for granted.

In order to keep the romance in our marriage, I try to think of things that we can do with just the two of us. Don’t get me wrong - I love the kids and we do lots of things as a family as well. As a matter of fact, some of our most memorable activities as a family have not cost very much at all and everyone still had lots of fun.

I remember in the first years of our marriage before the two youngest came along, we would get together with another one of our neighbours who had kids the same age as us. Neither family had two nickels to rub together, but every Friday night after supper dishes were done, one couple would show up at the other’s door and we would play Canasta, the girls against the boys, until way past our normal bedtime while the kids also played together in the next room. One week it would be at our house, and we would supply the lemonade and the popcorn, and the next week we’d go over to their house. It was great fun and lots of laughs.

As the kids got older, we’ve had lots of summer potluck suppers with the rest of the neighbours. One neighbour has a ping pong table on their deck and another has a basketball net in their driveway. There are always horseshoes or badminton that can easily be set up for the kids as well. Neighbourhood potlucks cost nothing and is a great time to catch up on all the news and to get or give any tools back that you’ve lent out or borrowed.

We’ve also participated in plenty of work parties when someone needs help with a big home project. Just last fall, one of our neighbours needed a new roof. He chose a weekend, made sure he had all the materials in place and all the neighbours showed up in their work boots and coveralls to get the job done in just one day. Even the kids helped by being the ground crew and picking up all the old shingles and nails and putting them in the big dumpster that was especially ordered for the job. Of course, people who host work parties are responsible for feeding the crew afterwards, but for the cost of a barbeque, the job can be done in a fraction of the time and be a good time to boot.

Date night is different though. At least once a month, I make sure I set aside a day or  evening to do something with just me and my Queen. A few years ago, I used to take her to the SPCA and we’d spend a couple hours visiting with all the orphaned dogs and cats there. They were all so needy and would press their little faces against the bars and look out at us longingly. That’s how we ended up with all our pets. We finally realized that we just couldn’t afford to go there any more.

Several times this month, the news was talking that the conditions were right for seeing Northern Lights, so last week I picked up a box of donuts and made a thermos of hot chocolate and I loaded a couple of blankets into the car. Then after supper, I asked the kids to look after the dishes and I told my Queen to get her coat. I drove us both out to the country and found a nice dark road to park on and watch the night sky. We wrapped ourselves in the blankets, held hands and talked about some of things we wanted to do this summer. In between, we drank steaming hot chocolate, ate some dessert, and watched a terrific light show. Now THAT’S what I call a date!