A spontaneous trip and some time together

Life often moves faster than we expect, especially as we get older it seems.

With overtime shifts, evening meetings, dance class and other activities in our lives, it feels like Nate and I have hardly seen each other this week. Two nights in a row, I was talking to my mom on the phone when I got home and told her I had just missed Nate or I waved at him while I was pulling in and he was leaving.

We're incredibly busy, and we don't even have kids!

Last night, we decided to drive to a nearby city and just spend time together out of the house. We went to Sam's Club and stopped by the mall to return some items and got some dinner with gift cards we had in my wallet. We ended the night by stopping at a casino on the way home - we're not gamblers often, but we do it for entertainment sometimes - and won $22.

It was nice to just have some time to be together. It didn't matter where we went or what we did, we just needed to set aside some time together.

Setting aside time to be together can really get difficult in this day and age, and you have to be aware of it. On Friday night, I thought about holding a make-up dance lesson, but then I realized that was the only evening Nate and I would have together, so I moved it back a week.

Time together is also a reason that I consciously decide not to get involved in too much stuff. People say "yes" to this club and that organization and this activity and that sport, and pretty soon they never see their families or friends. It doesn't make for a happy life, it makes for a stressful life.

I used to think it was weird when my parents would just go for a drive. Why would you want to get in the car and not go anywhere? I get it now. When we were driving last night, it was a time to talk and laugh and listen to music and just take some time to be together. It's not about where you're going but who you're going with.

It's getting harder and harder to find time together, so that time becomes precious. I really encourage everyone else to think about how they spend their time and start saying "no" to a few more activities so they can start saying "yes" to their families. That's what is important in life.