I looked across the table at my wife and said, “It’s hard to beat a medium-rare ribeye and a loaded baked potato.” That was her order. I had gotten the fish and immediately regretted it. In my jealousy, I then told her how lucky I was to have married a woman who can throw down a full 12-ounce steak on her own.
After our date, we got home and pondered why we don’t do it more often. Our conversation then turned to all of our excuses when we don’t. We all have excuses for not taking our wives on dates, but we have to get past our excuses and make it happen. Here are 5 lame excuses you may be using to get out of a date with your wife.
Dating your wife is about quality time and intentionality.1. You don’t have the finances.
There are times when you need to lock down the budget and watch your spending. However, you shouldn’t use finances as an excuse for not dating your wife. A simple Google search will show you hundreds of ways to date her without any money at all. If money is your excuse, you are not trying hard enough. You don’t have to spend lots of money in order to call it a date. Dating your wife is about quality time and intentionality. You may not be the most romantic guy in the world, but a little effort can help you save money and accomplish the same goal. Struggling with finances is understandable, but it’s still one of the bad excuses to get out of a date with your wife.
2. You don’t have the time.
I somehow always have time to do the stuff I want to do. We have time for the things we care about. If we really want to do something, we will adjust and move things in order to make that thing happen. “We don’t have time” is a lame excuse because we are actually choosing not to shift our time toward our wives. Now, to be clear, there are seasons when time is very limited, but we must acknowledge that and make an effort to spend time with our wives regardless. If you took an inventory on all the time you waste on your devices, would it show that you actually have more time to spend with your wife than you think?
3. You’re focused on the kids.
For many, marriage is focused on the kids. Lots of us operate off the kids’ schedules and activities instead of keeping marriage a priority. I always tell my kids that I married their mom before we had them as a reminder that she is more important than they are. Don’t get me wrong—I love my kids, but I think the best way to love them is to love my wife well and that means making time for just the two of us. So don’t let the kids be one of your excuses to get out of a date with your wife.
4. Work gets in the way.
If you are like most hardworking men, it doesn’t matter what you do—you are going to put your time and energy into your job. As providers, it comes easy for us to work hard. If work is your excuse, it’s always going to be your excuse no matter what. Work takes a lot of our energy, as it should, but we must save some energy to give to our wives.
5. Your wife doesn’t want to.
If you read the title of this excuse and tell yourself that your wife really doesn’t want to go on dates, chances are, you have more going on in your marriage than just needing a little date here and there. Don’t be passive about that. Take initiative and put in the work. If you guys need to talk to a counselor, you make the appointment. If you guys need to have some hard conversations, you start talking first. Will it be hard? Probably. But it will be worth it when after you’ve put in the work, your wife actually wants to go on date.
Sound off: What do you and your wife like to do on dates?
Huddle up with your kids and ask, “Why do you think it’s important for us to spend time together as a family?”