Have you ever had a day where you get bad news or even just one thing feels like it isn't going your way, and you just start feeling sorry for yourself? And you sink down into the pity and let it wash over you, focusing inward on nothing and no one but self. I. Me. Myself. Mine. (See Improving Your Serve Charles Swindoll).That cycle is hard to break. It truly is a spiral, in and down, seemingly without end. I mean we always climb out eventually; well, most of us do- some people stay in the spiral for years. I know I have been that way in the past. I was that way today. I have been that way for a couple of weeks.
I did, however, find a way to break out of that cycle: focus outward. Don't focus on self. Do something for others. Serve others. Be selfless. Give, forgive, and forget.
One easy way I can implement these cycle breaking habits is date night. Just another reason
as to why planning these dates is so important to me. It gets me thinking outward- using my love languages to show my husband that I love him, instead of focusing on me and how I am feeling. And we know how fleeting and fickle our emotions can be. The weather particularly influences my moods, especially when it has been raining for days on end and I've been seemingly trapped inside four walls with a extroverted, miniature version of myself.
This week's date night (and yes, I know I skipped a few weeks) was different than the past date nights. I didn't have any agenda tonight, except to focus outside of self. I cleaned and straightened up our home, so it would be pleasant when Travis got home from work. Before you get all "Feminista" on me, we typically share household duties, but we are both pretty lax when it comes to housework, and admittedly our house is usually a mess. I put a fresh, energizing EO blend in my diffuser (2 drops lemongrass, 2 drops sweet orange, 2 drops eucalyptus, 1 drop lavender, in case you wondered) I put fresh sheets on our bed and actually made the bed- something I only do when company is coming over. I made dinner. Not a frozen pizza, not pancakes, (literally just pancakes was all I made last night for our dinner), not "why don't you fend for yourself tonight, I am too tired to cook and I'm not even that hungry anyway." I made a real meal!
None of these things were done to make myself feel like a better wife, mother or person. I didn't do them so I could hold it over my family as if I do everything for them and they should bow to me the benevolent dictator of Bender house. I did them to serve my family, to serve my husband.
Really without any sort of list of activities for the evening, I sent my husband the standard text invitation to give him the head's up that tonight was date night. Literally the only "theme" (and it was a stretch) that I could come up with was spring.
I guess I kinda did spring cleaning (?) and I had the perfect craft for us to work on. I wish I'd
planned ahead and come up with some witty activity or game related to springs. But nope. Instead, we made bird houses (which I found at the Dollar Tree!) and played our favorite game from the Valentine's Date, Colorfox!
