Dating Jon for the past year and a half has been anything but boring. He keeps me on my toes with his quick wit and we always have fun together. As cliche as it sounds, he is my best friend.
With our jobs and activities during the week and his MBA program eating up much of his "free time," being intentional with quality time for each other has been crucial since the beginning of our relationship. We established Saturday night as "date night" from our early days of dating and have worked hard to protect that time.
In the premarital class we recently took through our church, one of the lessons was focused on relational intimacy and pursuing your significant other. (Side note- we loved the class, Merge, and can't recommend it enough for every couple before they get married! If you're engaged or seriously dating, check it out!)
In Merge and from many married couples, I've heard over and over the concept of dating your spouse. Marriage is supposed to be FUN, not boring! : )
Both being creatures of habit, Jon and I can see how easy it is for us to fall into the simple "dinner date" routine. While we love this, we know we need to mix it up with new activities and creative dates together, and want to avoid getting stuck in a rut as we continue dating and prepare for marriage- and (someday) introduce kids into the mix!
Our Merge leaders suggested writing down as many date ideas as we could think of onto little pieces of paper and putting them in a water bottle. Then, when planning a date (or being spontaneous!), pull out a piece of paper, and BOOM, date activity done!
We've decided to get started on this concept and have a sort of "bucket list" of date activities that we are adding to, and kicked off the first one with a trip to the other side of the Metroplex- Fort Worth!
Fort Worth, also known as Cowtown/Funkytown, has a special place in my heart because I went to TCU. I showed Jon all of my old stomping grounds- the empty lot where the little yellow house I lived in during senior year stood, the church I used to work at, favorite restaurants, and of course, all around the TCU campus.
Somehow the stadium was unlocked, so we waltzed on in and walked around the field. And while my Baylor Bear was a good sport for his full campus tour (I made him see all of my favorite places, including pushing me on the Jarvis swing), he insisted on doing the Baylor bear claw on MY field.
At least he made up for it by buying a TCU hat in the bookstore. I have a feeling a Waco trip is in our near future...
We met up with friends for dinner at Joe T. Garcia's, a Fort Worth staple, for Tex-Mex and really good margaritas. A word to the wise- get there early, as it is always crazy crowded. Worth it for the atmosphere though.
Following dinner, we headed downtown to Four Day Weekend, a comedy club, to see a late show. It was improv comedy, really funny- especially because we were in the front row and sort of got involved in the show, and something we had not done together before!
The next day, before making our way back to Dallas, we went to the Fort Worth Botanic Garden and walked around the Japanese Garden. It was so peaceful and pretty, and Jon especially enjoyed feeding the coy. We want to go back in a couple of weeks and explore the Botanic Gardens- it was a little chilly and cloudy the day we were there.
We also didn't have a chance to explore the West 7th area or visit one of my favorite wine bars, Times Ten Cellars. All the more reason for a return trip soon!
What memorable date activities have you and your significant other enjoyed together? Help us fill up our water bottle!
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