It’s no secret that love, is in fact, a battlefield. Navigating the highs and lows of life can sometimes be stressful and hard to manage. When you are dealing with all that life throws at you, it’s hard not to take the partner next to you as a casualty of war. Maybe it’s because we have confidence in their permanence and their love, our partners sometimes take the brunt end of life’s ebb and flow. My husband and I have been married over 15 years now. Not every year was easy, but also not every year was difficult. Something happened this year that made this one of the easier years… we prioritized US.

Before we were blessed with children, we had 5 years married when we dated and traveled frequently. We were strong in our love then. Even though we had disagreements, the strength and fun together outweighed those blips. Somehow, after we had kids, we forgot about those moments and naturally, our focus became the kids. We prioritized the kids and forgot about our own fun. We wished and hoped for our kids for so long it was only natural that they became our focus. Unfortunately, that meant that our relationship took the passenger seat. Date Nights were rare and very far between. Finally, last year we decided to make a change and allow our relationship to take back the driver’s seat. We had started this change before by saying we would go on a date once a month – but those intentions quickly fizzled out. Finding a sitter seemed tedious, and it was just easier to hang around with the kids. We had to do something more forceful. We had enjoyed our season passes to the Hollywood Pantages Theatre with our daughter Vie. It did wonders for our relationship with her after the two littles came. Enjoying the theatre as a trio gave us one on one time with our big girl. We liked the idea of a scheduled date and thought a pre- scheduled and purchased date might give us that push we needed. We went for it and purchased season tickets to the Ahmanson Theatre. We both enjoy the theatre and having set dates forced us to prioritize our dates and find a way to get out without the kids. It has done wonders for our relationship! The strength in our love for each other and all of those fun memories came back. We have an opportunity to talk to each other about life without distractions and interruptions the kids bring. We feel more connected even though we are now busier than ever! Scheduling our dates and committing to our tickets has even made it easier to continue to prioritize our relationship beyond our season tickets. Last summer we took our first solo vacation without the kids to NYC and recently, we even took a trip to Disneyland – WITHOUT THE KIDS!! We had the best time and it was guilt free. It’s hard not to want to bring the kids along with you everywhere. The guilt of leaving them behind is REAL. But, we can’t allow our relationship take a passenger seat. After all, it was the strength of our love that brought our kids to us in the first place.

If I could give one relationship advice, it would be to let go of the guilt and excuses and get out together! Schedule your dates and commit to season passes somewhere if you need to, but make it a priority to get out and have an adventure together. The kids will thank you.

“… it was the strength of our love that brought our kids to us in the first place.”

Date nights don’t have to be pricey or fancy! Pick something you both enjoy or take turns picking the destination.

Here are a few ideas here in L.A. …

• Amanson Theatre is a world class theatres showcasing pre-Broadway runs as well as the best of Broadway. Season tickets start at just $119. ** If you’re under 25 they even have a program where you can attend first run performances FOR FREE. Ill link that HERE If you are under 40 there is a program called “The Crew” that gives you special pricing on season tickets! Ill link “The Crew” HERE.
• Hollywood Pantages Theatre
• A mini package for any sporting event such as, Los Angeles Dodgers, Clippers, Lakers… whatever team you cheer for!
• Season pass for a museum that you’d love to spend time in but would dread taking the kids to
• A series of classes like, cooking, pottery of even sip and paint art classes!
• Disneyland! Or any local theme park! Just get out and have fun together! The trick is to have your dates scheduled where you make a commitment to them and making your relationship a priority.

It’s true. This past Valentine’s Day we had a tax appointment scheduled. We were okay with it and we didn’t feel like we missed out on a romantic date night opportunity, because we aren’t starved for that alone time anymore. We know we have another date night opportunity already scheduled!

Love and marriage woes, do you think spending more one on one time would help? How do you prioritize your relationship?