Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth (Proverbs 5:18 ESV).

Do you have a hard time leaving your kids for an overdue date with your spouse? Do you wonder if there are options for reconnecting with each other during the last few weeks of summer before the homeschool year begins again? I answer you with a resounding “YES!” I want to remind you once again that “dating your spouse” is a vital part of raising unique learners! Married couples need to love each other earnestly if we are to survive the marathon and multitude of sins.

My late husband, Cary, and I faced this conundrum of needing dedicated time together as a couple, but no childcare provider was in sight for many years. Once our older kids could finally babysit, they had jobs and their own social life to pursue, so we were often still stuck at home sans babysitters. Besides that, our budget did not even allow for discount matinee movie seats nor cheap fast-food meals. And the distance to town was a factor when gas was exorbitantly priced! So, we were forced to schedule our needed weekly couple time without going out. After all, we did homeschool, so why not home date?

In my second published book, ADOPTION: Encouragement and Advice for a Hopeful Journey, I cataloged in the back section over 75 Creative Dates that my husband and I enjoyed at home through the years. Due to a variety of reasons, including behavior issues from their pre-adoption early childhood trauma, we could not leave our most challenging kids to go out to relax and refresh. We needed dates that were easy to plan and low to no cost at home. Both right-brain artists, we put our heads together, and voila!

I want to share with you a few of those fun ideas that helped keep our marriage strong through thick and thin. Perhaps you can plan to enjoy several of these ideas as a couple over the next month or so until your school year begins. But do not stop dating your spouse at summer’s end! Instead, keep dedicated time for romance going throughout the coming years. These in-home dates will lift your spirits and return joy to your homeschool lifestyle. Your children are watching! They will be encouraged and maybe even laugh and appreciate it when your visible love for one another as a married couple spills out onto them.

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