Flirt with Your Husband Friday: Back to School Date

When I was a child, my mother always looked forward to the first day of school.  No, she didn’t attend school --- it was her first day without children after the long summer.  One year (after an especially trying summer), she even kissed the front of the schoolbus.  I never knew quite what my parents did with the day (dad always seemed to manage to have that day off), but it was their day --- without the kids. 

Now, things are a little bit different.  For one, I TEACH at a school, which makes the first day of school one of the craziest days of the year.  For another, I’m now the grown-up – cherishing the ritual of the first day of school.  (I also have a much easier time imagining what my mom and dad might have done with their first day of freedom.)

So --- have a back to school date.  Go out to dinner on the first night of school if you’re a teacher (you won’t be up for cooking anyway – so plan ahead for it).  Or go out to lunch after the kiddos are all safely at school --- just the two of you.  It won’t matter if its McDonalds or some chic French bistro – its time alone together and a ritual that will repeat itself for years to come.  That’s what making family memories is all about --- repetition and rituals.  Maybe some day your children will be writing about how mom and dad always had a date on the first day of school.