Post-Valentine's Day Dating Advice for Married Couples

I admire couples who manage to hold a regular Date Night. My husband and I do not have a Date Night but found a pale substitute: the Spontaneous Date. This idea hatched one cool evening last fall, after the heat and humidity subsided. "Hey, why don't we go for a walk?" I cheerfully asked my husband. He scoffed at my suggestion, mumbling that he had to take out the garbage. I followed him out into the garage. As he rolled the garbage can down the driveway, I walked beside him. He looked up quizzically me. "Look, we're on a date!" I exclaimed.

I have found multiple Spontaneous Date opportunities in everyday Olney life. Whenever we find ourselves sans kids (perhaps after dropping them off at piano lessons or parties), I exclaim, "We're on a date!" Once when we had to notarize documents at the UPS Store, it was just the notary, my husband and me in the store. "We're on a date," I declared. Another time my husband and I went grocery shopping at Giant and walked down the frozen food aisle together -- voila, Spontaneous Date! I think I might have even been wearing white at the time, so it was a Spontaneous Faux Wedding Date!

Speaking of Giant, when we rack up more than 300 Gas Rewards Points, we embark on another Spontaneous Date (at least that is what I call it -- my husband is not completely on board with my enthusiasm) to the Shell station on Georgia Avenue. Leaving the kids at home, we each drive a car to the station so we can fill not one, but two tanks of gas and save at least 30 cents off per gallon. Spontaneous Cheap Date!

So I say to all couples who have not carved out a Date Night: let's extend Valentine's Day romance throughout the year with all kinds of Spontaneous Dates!