How I got my flirt back

Today I dropped off Arlo at Mother's Day Out, went to the dentist for a teeth cleaning, and then had an impromptu date with my husband. :) 

It was the middle of the work day, it was the lunch hour, but we felt like we had flashed back in time to our dating days. When I pulled into the parking lot and parked next to my husband, he jumped out to open my door and greeted me with a big smile and a kiss.  The one thing that we have been missing since becoming parents has been uninterrupted one on one time with each other. Time to be still. Time to reconnect. Time to see each other as we used to. Not as "Mommy" and "Daddy" but the person who makes our heart beat faster. 

The silver lining to our infertility struggle was that we had 7.5 years of marriage to just be the two of us. While we longed for a baby, we loved our freedom and time with each other. Our lives have been filled with so much joy since having Arlo, but sometimes  while passing off a baby to be fed, tag-teaming story time, or playing another long game of peek-a-boo, we catch each others' eyes and say, "I miss you." We both know what the other means. We're in the same room, but we miss the us that we used to be.

That's why these spontaneous date lunches are so important. While we did talk about Arlo, we also talked about our other common interests, day dreamed about the future, and flirted. After the check was paid, we walked back to our respective cars, shared a kiss and went back to our days. 

I had a long list of things to-do today. It would have been easy to stay holed up in my home office knocking out work and getting ahead on deadlines while Arlo was away, but today the best thing I could have done with my time was sit across from my husband, share a meal, and do some flirting. 

What are your creative ideas for making time for dates and keeping your spark alive?