Dates

We are having a great time visiting with my grandmother now.  Each child has gotten to have their own date. My 8 year old's idea for her date was to go down town to a quaint book store and find a treasure among the many shelves of book.  She found the Chronicles of Narnia, the whole series bound in one book so wide, she could hardly hold it in her hands  She was so excited.  Jumping up and down.  My grandmother looked astonished and said, "Certainly you can't read that, are you sure that's what you want."  My daughter looked with pleading eyes, opened it up and in one breath read the first paragraph without a pause.  She got the book and I found many other gems there. We then went through the passageways and cobblestone streets  to many art galleries on their opening night and met artists.  We looked at their techniques and picked out the ones we liked best. As we headed back to our car for the evening on an old trolley we heard the street musicians and  saw the lights of the city.  We ended our evening with a cup of cocoa while talking about the greatness of the evening and my grandmother's surprise at what a wonderful date my little girl planned.

We try to have family fun days and rotate date nights so each child has a chance to do something special with a parent of their choice, a date of their planning.  I love our date nights. Getting each kid one on one and seeing them flourish in a new setting.  Sitting close and listening intently to just them.  I find even these dates are opportunities for educating our children or seeing how their education is paying off.  It's a time when the cares of everyday norm disappear and I can just enjoy my kids.

What kind of date nights do you have with your children?