I’d love to think that our family life is simple, but I’m not quite sure. Is life simple with kids? Among Andrew’s work, our respective blogs, the house, the boys, parish involvement, and Bible study, it’s easy for me to try just making it through the day instead of enjoying it all; especially enjoying my husband. Crazy, right? Since he’s my husband – my vocation – he should be at the center of my day.
photo by jeeked
Wanting to stave off a looming feeling of emotional distance between us, Andrew had a brilliant idea to keep our marriage in our sights. Splitting $20 every month, we take on the mission of finding small gifts for each other. Gift cards, movies, lunch at Panera, etc. As long as it fits inside $10 (+tax), we’re good to go. For April I found a steal of a deal on Amazon and purchased The Hobbit for him for $10 even, while he found a similar deal and surprised me with My Fair Lady – a total success!
The two conditions on our little project are A) we have to remain within budget and B) because the monthly gift fund is budgeted, a gift must be obtained. Of course, it’s perfectly acceptable to go under $10.
The whole point, aside from the fun of it, is to keep us focused on us. We’re both involved in all sorts of activities, plus there are the kids and house that demand our attention. It’d be too easy to lose the spark and loving regard for each other amid distraction. We’ve done only one month, but it’s a blast and I can’t wait to see what we come up with next. Not only is it absolutely sweet and delightful to get a surprise from Andrew, but it’s also exciting shopping around for him. It encourages getting to know each other well enough to keep up gift-giving creativity; and with a little spark like this, it maintains our love connection without a problem!
Katie, what a sweet idea! You two are truely and inspiration to all married couples. God bless you always!
What a lovely idea. It’s important to build on a healthy spousal relationship because that, more than anything else, is what keeps the family unit strong. When our kids were much younger and our family was growing, my husband and I designated a once a month date night at home, later in the evening when the kids were in bed. We planned and cooked a romantic dinner together, lit candles, used the good china. As the years went by, we budgeted for a babysitter once a month so we could have a night out. Then our older children became old enough to babysit their younger siblings. Now that we are no longer in need of babysitters and finances are not so tight, our favourite time together is still something as simple as going for a long walk in the evening.
Wonderful idea! Shared it with Mr. S and we are thinking about doing it. Thanks for the post 🙂