Date Night

Shalom;
Last Sunday was the second of our date night.
Of course we combined it with doing laundry, but it still works.

Naturally, Montaque had the best seat in the house.
So while the washing machines did their thing, we headed for the Starbucks just down the street for Peppermint Mochas.

I long for the day when the pumpkin spice is kosher as well.
It was a very nice evening, a little on the chilly side, but still made for a night evening out.

This was also a nice evening for taking pictures of Ghent. This is Fair Grounds, across the street from Starbucks. Texture is one of my favourite stores; the stores offers some of the most interesting gifts in Norfolk.
I have going to have to write an entry about Texture some time.

The Naro theatre. Builded 75 years ago, the Naro is an experience in itself. Entering the theatre is taking a step back in time, back to the 30s and 40s when going to take in supper and a movie was a night out. Rarely do Mark and I take in a movie that isn't played here. Another place to blog about soon.

My two guys, waiting for me to finish taking pictures, so we can get down to the real reason of our being out here; coffee.
As we sat and enjoyed our coffees, I noticed for the first time, the worry lines around Mark's eyes were gone. His laugh came easy, he smiled more. The tension was gone.
He took my hand and asked me what I was thinking.
"How much I love you,"
"Funny," Mark said, "I was thinking the same thing."

Date Night

Shalom:
Last night, after supper, Mark and I went out to Starbucks, our first date night in a very long time.

After paying a few bills and getting some gas, we decided it was time just for an hour or so of down time. Just the two of us.
Since we knew most folks would be home, watching the election results, save for one person, it was rather nice to have the cafe to ourselves.
Sipping hot mochas, it felt like the early days of our courtship;  we could only afford Starbucks dates, holding hands, looking into each others eyes, planning for our future.
We talked over the day, laughed over private jokes and just enjoy being together.
Of course, we ran into a friend we hadn't seen a while and since it was raining, we offered him a ride home before heading back to our place.
Tired, we headed off to bed.
Like John F Kennedy of old, we didn't see the need to stay up for the results.
We just wanted to continue our Date Night.
 

Strong Bonds: Date Night.

Shalom:
The afternoon session, the couples were broken into two groups.
One would make a list of what we would look for in a friend. The other, what would look for in a spouse.
The two list looked similiar.
I believe and most in the group agreed that friendship is very important in marriage. That you should marry your bestfriend.
I am blessed to have married mine.
Sometimes in marriage, with all the dailys of life, a couple can forget to just enjoy each other, spend time with each other. Sometimes, we forget to just sit down and talk.
Having fun is just as important to marriage as faithfulness and trust.
The next session was to me the most beautiful moment of the retreat.
Sexuality and Marriage.
Sex is a beautiful, wonderful expression of love between husband and wife. At that special moment, we are one, as G-d indeed. In fact, G-d rejoices over married love.
After all, it was His idea.
Rabbi Mark taught about what many wives wish their husbands knew and what husbands wish their wives knew about men.
It was here I saw my husband's heart touched.  Not that we have a problem here (trust me, we don't).
But when rabbi Mark shared that when men make love to their wives, not only do they filled loved, but it is healing to his soul.
Upon hearing these words, Mark turned to me and stroked my cheek and whispered the word, "true."
Rabbi Mark is a wonderful and gentleman and his words painted a romanctic back drop for the couples for date night.
So as we were walking back to our cabin, trying to think of something to do, I turned my anke and found myself limping.
We got back to the cabin and Mark got some ice for my anke.
We took a nap and then Mark went out and got supper and we spend the evening in our cabin, sharing the evening meal, Mark applying more ice to my anke and cuddling in bed.
The only missing was a roaring fire.

Autumn in Ghent.

Boker Tov:

While out for our walk yesterday afternoon, we spotted down the street we were walking.

The streets of Ghent paint a lovely picture in the Autumn, often remind me of the picture puzzles my mother loves to work on.
We do a lot of walking in Ghent. The Laundry Mat we use is right there on the main street, along with the Naro, where we rent our vidoes and of course Star Bucks.
Many of the homes in Ghent are works of art. Many dating back to 1890s to 1900s, you can just imagine the stories they tell.
We spend a lot of time in Ghent during our courtship. So much so that this is where we chose to live when we got married. We laughed about the fact we actually started getting serious about where our relationship was heading around this time eight years ago, when Mark began to think about how to ask me to marry him and I was wondering when he would.
We had no money and the winds of war blew all around us. But so did love and a future together.
Ten years later, we have come full cicrle. Now married and living here in Ghent, we have no money, and Ghent is still amoung our favorite date spots. We still laugh and talk about G-d and His Torah, about books we have read and what we imagine our life looking together.
I would like to see the no money part change, however.