Finding balance in our lives between work, maintaining a home, and nurturing relationships that are important to us, is the key to finding our happy place. It is easy to get out of balance when the demands of life pull us in many directions. What do you do when your funds are limited? There are countless ways to nurture a relationship that you hold dear even when you are on a budget. Here are five date ideas for under $20 that we have tried and it really has brought a closeness between me and my partner.
One day we packed a picnic lunch, grabbed a bottle of wine and headed west to watch the hot air balloons as they flew across the Mississippi River from Vidalia, Louisiana to Natchez, Mississippi, at the annual balloon race. We spread our quilt and reclined on our blanket and watched the giant colorful pieces of floating art pass over head. We chose a quiet spot at the riverside park in Vidalia so we could have conversation and enjoy the view without the crowd or cost of parking and entrance fees.
Local festivals in the South are my favorite to visit and people watch. There are many to chose from on any given weekend beginning in early spring and throughout the summer. I like festivals where they have live music, good food and adult beverages. The most recent festival we went to was the Oyster Festival in Amite, Louisiana. We found a spot on the porch of a restaurant in the heart of downtown. We had a couple of beers, ate awesome oyster po-boys, and watched the most eclectic group of festival attendees dancing at the foot of the stage, as the band played in the middle of the street.
Going on romantic walks. I enjoy taking different routes, holding hands, and talking about what we see as we walk. We keep our minds off our responsibilities and focus on the art of conversation and connecting again as friends. We have a lovely downtown, picturesque with little shops ranging from bakeries and diners to apparel and gift shops.
Visiting our local state park and hiking a trail together has been fun. After the physical exertion, it has been fun to balance it out with ice cream. We have a Dairy Queen in Brookhaven and a new Baskin Robbins in McComb, Mississippi where we live and work. We celebrate by living in the moment enjoying a large scoop of vanilla ice cream topped with banana, caramel, whip cream and nuts…heaven on a spoon.
I haven’t tried this one yet but I must put it on the list because I think it is worth mentioning. The scavenger hunt date—surprise is a fun element. Write clues and hide them over all over town (or the country side), you ride with your partner and aid them as needed on the adventure. The last note can end with a romantic love letter, candles and rose petals on the bed or a romantic home cooked meal or both. It is designed to ignite the old flame that brought you together.
For me, finding my happy place requires having a home where we love each other. We have been through some major storms and have come close to losing each other. Our marriage is like an old oak tree that the storms of life have blown hard on, but instead of toppling the tree it made our roots stronger. It is not an easy task when you are depressed to even want to do anything for or with your partner, but if you have someone that loves you, that nurtures you, it is worth trying.
May you never lose hope and may you find peace wherever you go.
Jackie
