My husband and I have been talking about having a regular babysitter for a while now.

Sure, when the kids go to sleep, we the rest of the evening to ourselves. We can talk, watch tv, read, hang out and do something together. But it’s not the same.

We’ve been craving something more – time where we can be Karen and Andrew. Not mum and dad. Not story-teller, taxi driver, disciplinarian, cook, clothes-ironer, house-keeper, or child entertainer.

So many times I hear people who complain about ALL THE STUFF they used to do before they had kids and how they never have time for it anymore. They used to go for long walks. They used to windsurf. They used to watch noir movies under the stars with a picnic and wine. But now their life utterly revolves around the kids.

Don’t get me wrong. I love being a parent. I love my kids. But kids grow up. Kids leave home. Kids become adults and parents have to let go. When that happens, how are the parents? What’s the state of their relationship? It’s a bit scary how quickly things slide in a relationship, when you don’t look after it.

We are firm believers in living a balanced life – purposefully setting apart time for family, time for ourselves, time for our spouses and time for friends.

We know babysitters are not cheap. But we feel it’s a worthy investment.

So.

We have a new babysitter! We asked our next door neighbour’s teenage daughter to look after our kids once a week, and so far, she’s been great.

Every Wednesday, she comes over at 6pm. We leave. She plays with the boys, gives them supper, puts them to bed. We come home at 10pm, we pay her, then she just walks across the driveway back to her house! It’s an awesome arrangement.

So every week my husband and I have a good dose of couple time, which I call Our Date Night!

Looking forward to see how it goes.

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