This is Craig and I about 6 or 7 years ago.
We look so young and in love!
I don’t mean to imply that we’re not in love now. We definitely are, but it’s just different now. It’s easy to keep things exciting and fun when you’re young and dating. But, once you’re married for awhile and even more so when you have a kid, it’s easy to fall into a comfortable routine and get a little lazy.
But, sometimes all it takes is a little spontaneity to shake things up and make it fun again…
Last night Craig was taking a drive to Salem to pick up a car so Fern and I tagged along. It was last minute and the drive home would probably be during Fern’s bed time, so I had her all ready in PJs in case she fell asleep.
Long story short, the car ended up being a bit of a disaster and kept overheating on the drive home. It’s not exactly a quick drive from where we were, so stopping ever couple of exits to give the overheating car a break was slow going. Fern was asleep in her car seat, but Craig felt bad for keeping us both out late.
At this point I could’ve been a jerk and gotten mad and snappy about the situation we were in, but instead I tried to reframe it. Even though this wasn’t an ideal scenario, I told Craig it was actually kind of fun, because it was a spontaneous adventure and made me feel young and free again, like when we were first married and I’d tag along on little adventures with him. That may sound a little weird, because how could being stuck with a broken down car be fun, but it was more the fact that I hadn’t been out that late on a weeknight in ages, and even if it wasn’t a great situation, there’s something about going through little things like that together that is bonding. So, we sat in the car together, every couple of exits, while Fern slept and we watched “Breaking Bad” on Craig’s phone and talked about life. It really was a nice time, aside from the whole broken car thing.
All that said, it reminded me that it’s good to change things up in a marriage.
Hopefully next time our spontaneity will be for something more exciting than a broke down car, but either way, I’m just happy I get to do life with such a wonderful man.
Hope you all have a great day today!
xo
Lauren
The broke down car ride sounds like it turned into a sweet memory. My hubby just surprised me the other day by asking if I wanted to take a walk through the woods this weekend. He’s good at surprising me with little plans like that. It’s always fun to do something different. 🙂
I really love your perspective on the situation. You made a bad situation sound like a great bonding experience.
I have a hard time being spontaneous, I crave routine. But you’re right, being spontaneous sometimes keeps things alive.
love your blog! New follower 🙂
annalizbeth.blogspot.com
you two look adorable! (i know it’s an old picture, but still)
That sounds like a great story and I will keep that in mind for future reference. 🙂 thanks!
I love taking little road trip adventures with my hubby and just getting lost with him!!!
This is so sweet and can be an inspiration to so many.
My husband and I have a rock solid marriage full of love and laughter (which wasn’t the case at first, even after 5.5 years of dating first!). And its because of things like this! So glad you take the time to blog about these things and how marriage isn’t always perfect and situations aren’t always ideal but it’s life, it’s the ride, and it’s worth making it wonderful.
Aw that’s so sweet and TRUE! I loved reading this. It really doesn’t matter what you’re doing, as long as it’s with the person you love. It was a good reminder and I hope you (and me haha) have bunches more spontaneous and bonding moments in your marriage!
Brooke
I totally get what you’re saying! When life is crazy and busy and you don’t get as much time together as you used to, it’s so nice to have those spontaneous adventures, even if you’re sitting in a broken down car. It’s different from just sitting at home, and you get to do it together.
So sweet. Love you.
Kacie
It’s SO hard to get out of your routine sometimes. But like you, I believe that spontaneity can be rewarding!
Cute story! Sorry to hear that the car thing was a bust.
oh wow that would be quite the ordeal.
I enjoyed your post about the importance of maintaining a sense of adventure.
A few weeks ago my husband and I participated in a totally wild and crazy “food fight party” photo shoot event organized by one of our photographer friends. It was by far the most spontaneous thing either of us have ever done! We dropped our 4-year-old son at the baby sitter’s for the night, changed into swimsuits, and indulged in an insane evening of messy mayhem, shedding all adult responsibility for a few hours. We took turns throwing pies at each other, smashing cakes, squirting each other with ketchup and mustard, and dumping cans of baked beans, Spaghetti-O’s, chocolate syrup, and strawberry sauce over each others’ heads. We topped it off by sliding and rolling around on a plastic-covered floor coated with cold mashed potatoes, chocolate pudding and jello! As you can imagine, it was an unbelievably disgusting mess, but it felt liberating to put aside “respectability” and go crazy, just one time. I never imagined I would ever do something like this with my husband, and it’s definitely something we would never want our son to see, but it turned out to be an evening neither of us will ever forget.