It is easy to find oneself lost in routine. Getting up, getting ready, and spending the day at work. Seeing family at lunch and then through the evening. The Texas summer heat serving to bake the daily routine into a stale, dry loaf.
I’m a creature of routine. I thrive in knowing what is going to happen. But I also think I dislike routines. We are all living paradoxes in some way.
Driving down the same streets everyday, I find myself desiring change. I feel stuck in the things I know, the places I’ve seen. So I’ll switch up my routine, drive down a different street, show my brain something new for the day.
Saw an article on twitter the other day, all I read was the headline:
“Are You Taking Your Family For Granted?”
The familiar, the routine, can cause us all to take things for granted, especially our relationships.
Last night, with my son gone at Vacation Bible School (VBS), my wife and I decided to go to dinner. Earlier in the day, she texted me and asked, “Are we going on a date?”
A date…
What had originally just been a meal out without the kid suddenly became something different.
A date!
Dates are exciting. Dates require thinking about what to wear, where to go, and being intentional in conversation. I found myself a bit out of practice (I can be honest here, right?). But I found out what my wife has been reading (she reads a ton). We dreamed. Tab and Wyatt will be studying California history this next semester. So we talked about where we want to visit when we visit California next. Just being with my wife, reconnecting with her on a date, was amazing. Dates always remind me of why I married Tab (like I need that reminder… but sometimes I do).
Breaking a routine means doing something out of the ordinary. A mid-week date for us was the perfect shake-up. I only wish we had ordered the Confetti Pizookie. When you live you might as well go all the way and embrace the calories.
JohnnyBGamer 