An Important Date

I sent my husband on a date with another woman today. 

Actually, I was really pleased to see him leave with her.  Of course, the woman is our youngest daughter, Janessa. 

At seven, this little girl is a hoot.  She has the sweetest heart of all time.  Every time I get down about something or stressed about work, I know within minutes Janessa will retreat somewhere with a bunch of paper and markers and then emerge with a note saying how amazing I am and how she loves that I'm her mommy and that everyone will do better to make my life less stressful.  Yes, I have gotten a note that reads almost exactly like that.  Sigh. 

As wonderful as she is, sometimes she gets overlooked.  I hate to say that, but it's true.  In our household, every day our 16 year old and 12 year old bring up something -- good or bad -- that we have to deal with.  They're always talking.  They're always asking to go some place.  They're always in my face.  And Janessa just finds her markers and notebooks and goes off to spread her amazing cheer someplace while I deal with my demanding older children.  Oh, and let's not forget the baby.  He kind of demands a lot of my time too. 

This kills me.

So, this is why I was so delighted that my husband stepped out with her today.  Janessa planned for this all week.  She looked up the different movies they could see and made a list for Will.  She got ready about three hours before the movie, but took time to pick out a cute outfit and do her hair.  (Where she gets that, I have no idea ...)  In all of that, I knew how incredibly important this was to her. 

In a family of four busy children, we've found that dates with mom or dad can really make our kids days, weeks even.  We've done these dates for quite a while.  We've tinkered with a date schedule, but found that it's more fun when the dates come spontaneously.  Jadyn and I took a recent trip to Dairy Queen because he was begging for a mother-son date.  I usually have the best time on these dates.  In fact, I laughed so hard at Dairy Queen with Jadyn.  I came away thinking, "Wow, my son is sooooooo funny."  It's a good time to actually see my children up close and personal.  Sometimes I think it's crazy that I need a date with my child to get some valuable face time with them.   Then again, it really allows them to have my FULL attention and I know they don't get that on a regular basis.

I'm waiting for Janessa and Will to come back so I can hear all about their date.  I'm excited, really.  I know she'll come back a little different.  And, after news spreads of their date, I'm sure we'll be hearing from Jasmine with her date plans ...