Date Night Made Affordable - The Old Swap-a-roo

(continued from Date Night -- The Ingredient to Family Happiness)

Back when the husband and I had our first child, we found ourselves exhausted and low on funds. A date night didn't seem to even kind of be an option (I mean think about it, you have to pay the babysitter AND pay for your date).

As we talked to our friends we found that most were in the same boat -- new parents just forging their first roots of family life. And then the bell went off, "Ding!" One of us came up with a genius idea. Why don't we do a date night swap? One night we would babysit one of our friend's kids along with watching ours and then another night they'd do the same for us! Ahhhhhhhh . .freedom minus the cost of a sitter. And, a bonus, we felt confident leaving our children in our friends' trusted hands.

As the families got larger, though, watching each others kids became more a daycare-type challenge. While I applaud those that perform this AMAZING service, as a working parent, we just weren't up for it. So, though it was WONDERFUL while it lasted, the parent/date night swap-a-roo like "all good things" had come to an end.

But wait, while it WAS the end for the parent/date night swap-a-roo, it turned out there was a whole different swap-a-roo waiting just around the corner. It just so happened that my college-attending neice had decided to transfer to The University of Texas where she would pursue the reaminder of her studies. She needed a place to live and "Ding!" we needed Date Night!!!! So, we came to an agreement -- she got a great deal on living expenses and my kids found their beloved lifelong babysitter/part-time big sister. It was a trade "from the Gods."

Bottom line on this story: be creative with your options and don't just assume it all has to revolve around dollars and cents. Maybe you're good at cleaning houses and your friend is great with kids? "Ding! This could be the perfect fit!" (Of course, be choosy -- you don't want to go with the friend that SAYS they are good with kids, but then 'jokes' that they'll 'tie 'em to a chair with duct tape' when they're bad ; ) )

So, that's it. Keep your eyes and mind open. Don't just think about what you don't have, but what you do and how maybe that very thing can brighten someone else's day as well!

Date night awaits!

Tomorrow, more creative ways to make date night affordable (and oh yeah . .FUN!)