September 25, 2014: Date Night and Stuff

Stuff.

Tonight was date night. A very nice reprieve. And as always, there's a lot of stuff going on.

Dogs to walk. Kids to raise. Employees to lead. Buildings to build. Flowers to water.

Stuff. Lots of stuff.

There are trainers by day and long-time friends by morning. New friends sprinkled throughout. Runs in the morning. Gym dates when we can work them in. And work to get done. All the time.

Kids with stuff. Kids getting older. Parents getting older.

Places to see. Pictures not yet taken. Full calendars, but yards and animals that still need tending.

With many invitations for stuff full of other things and other people, tonight stayed true to us with Thursday night date night.

Margaritas. Chips. Smiles. Sneezes. World problem solving and just plain trying to figure out our collective seven kids. Texts from the road and the football field. School updates and planned events for the weekend. Time never stands still. Constant movement.

Work together. Every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Weekends never alone. Can't even imagine how we lived four years of only every other weekend together. Apart. Separate lives. Except for date night and together weekends.

Forever friends and life partners; whether together or apart. We used to talk through our days and now we live them together. The rawness of this reality isn't always easy, but always better together.

Date night and stuff. The new normal.

I can't imagine it any other way.