36, Day 20 (Written Friday December 30) ~ Just Husband And Wife

I love my children with all of my being. Becoming a daddy was everything I dreamed it would be. On top of that, I was blessed with two really great and really cool kids. I am amazed daily that they can both be so much like me and yet just like their mother and at the same time, nothing like us. They are so much fun to hang out with too. They have a lot of interesting talents that I enjoy watching develop. All of that being said, sometimes being a mom and dad can be challenging, tiring, frustrating and disappointing. Even on the worst day, I still get tears in my eyes imagining there is coming a time when they will move out and begin their own lives and families independent of us. I love my boys.

I was not prepared to be a daddy when my first son was born. I was only 19 years old. I was immature, naive and just downright foolish, but I loved him and did the best I could do, learning from my mistakes along the way. It would have been helpful to have to instructional, practice, learning time on how to be a daddy before he was born. I do learn from my mistakes, and that is why Jade and I are preparing for the day when it is just the two of us again. Reese is 16 and a junior in high school, Kase is 14 and will be a freshman this fall. That means it won't be long. How are we preparing for this day? By getting away, just the two of us.

Around three times a year, Jade and I will get away for a night or a weekend and just be husband and wife. Around 360 days a year we are mom and dad full time, around the clock, but for a few days a year we are just husband and wife. No kids, no families, no friends, just us. I consider it practice and training for the day when it is just the two of us full time and the kids will come in for a visit a few times a year. Did you realize that one of the highest risks of divorce comes for couples married over 20 years when their children leave the home. Too often we only allow ourselves to be defined as mom and dad for so long that we don't know how to go back to being husband and wife. We don't want to fall into that trap, so we are practicing just being a husband and a wife this weekend. But I have to admit I can't wait to see my boys again on Sunday :)