My husband and I began a tradition when we started dating, which has carried on to our married life. We’ll keep it with us the rest of our lives. It’s a tradition that we both look forward to weekly with great anticipation. It’s our date night.

“Date night” started the first few weeks we were…well, dating. It was a wintery Wednesday, the first night I had my future husband over for dinner at my place. I made him my favorite meal to cook and coincidentally his favorite meal to eat: Gnocchi. It was love at first bite. Every Wednesday from there on out, and for the rest of our lives, date night takes place.

How is date night different from any other night we spend together? I cook a new meal for the both of us every Wednesday. It’s a perfect middle-of-the-week pick-me-up. I enjoy cooking. I hosted a cooking show when I lived in New Jersey and learned some helpful cooking techniques and recipes while working alongside a chef every few weeks for several years. Cooking is my way to de-stress, to create and develop new recipes and try them out on my husband, who happens to have a very healthy appetite.

Now that our daughter is here and I have gone back to my full time career as a television producer, date nights have become tricky. I sometimes find myself frantically scouring the internet in the last minutes of my work day, looking for a quick yet yummy recipe I can stir up upon arriving home. But first we have the baby to tend to – she needs my love and attention as soon as I get home, too. 

There have been date nights where I have been out of commission. The end of pregnancy was one of those instances. After childbirth was another. We still recognized those Wednesdays as “date nights”, but with take out, or leftovers. Even still, on those date nights, we will clink our glasses together and cheer to each other.

Our “date night” is not only important to fueling one healthy and very happy marriage while eating some great food along the way, it gives both my husband and I something to look forward to every week – a set time with each other. No baby (she goes to bed!). Just us.

It is so easy to get lost in the routine of tending to your work and child’s needs while putting your spouse’s on the back burner. Having a set time weekly with my husband – for us both to induldge in each other and remember what brought us together in the first place - creates an excitement and anticipation that started when we were dating, and that we still feel just as strongly as a married couple.