Mother son dating
Quick background on this topic....
My husband has a 4 year old daughter (my step daughter). We have made father daughter dating a priority. His goal on each date is to show her exactly as she deserves to be treated. I know this is not a new concept but it is one we are using! The idea is, when she grows up and goes on her first date, that date will pale in comparison to the dates she has with daddy. Why? Because she should hold these boys to a standard that is almost un-reachable! It may sound harsh but we want to keep alive, in our family, the idea that a man should work hard to court and impress a woman. The way things are changing in the world today I'm not sure many men will understand this concept when she becomes dating age. We have strong reasons for deciding to place importance on how relationships work and I will post another time about that!
We set up these dates for her and daddy in hopes that she will have enough respect for herself to write off any man who doesn't treat her the way she deserves. This means, if a man wants to date her, he may have to fight and work hard to learn what it takes to treat her like a lady. When I write the post about why we have placed an importance on how relationships work, I will also explain our beliefs on it all.
So, why mother-son dating? I realized we want his daughter to hold men to a high standard. Doesn't this mean we are obligated to teach the boys what that high standard is? "The boys" as we call them are my two boys, my husbands step children. They are 12 and 8 and every inch of them is boy! Maybe you are starting to see why we prioritize how relationships work in our family.....his daughter, my boys...oh, and my boys have 2 different fathers...
Moving on...
When I got home today from a date with my 8 year old son, I decided I wanted to start blogging for my own personal memories and do it in a way that I can share with my family and friends. So, I am going to start with my date today and how it went down. Later, I will write a post breaking down all of the ideas I have for mother-son dating and another for father-daughter dating. Those post will help me stay on my game and give me a place to go back to when I think of something new!
I started today with handing Aaron (my 8 yr old son) enough money for our date. It was his responsibility to pay for everything and keep track of "his" money. I have had my 12 year old take me out on dates before, but this was Aaron's first experience.
The first thing he had to tackle was wearing shoes....this kid does not wear shoes anywhere! But, it was important he go on our date fully dressed!
Aaron decided we were going to eat a quick lunch, go see a movie and end the day with a slushy....he is still 8 and I'm almost positive the slushy was the most important part of this date!
We first went to Walgreen's so I could teach him how to properly sneak candy into the movie theater...this is an important budgeting skill...right?! Then we went to Wendys and split, yes split, a happy meal. You know, to save room for popcorn and candy! Aaron was sure to open the door and let me into Wendys before he stepped in. He stayed close to me in line showing me affection by hugging my leg the whole time. Usually he is running circles, showing off his gymnastic skills and playing with the ketchup dispenser so this is a big deal! We sat down and ate keeping an eye on the clock, sure to have time to buy popcorn before the movie! Going back to the car I stood at the drivers door refusing to get in. It took him a few minutes but then it clicked! This is exactly what I do at a door to any building. If my husband is there and I touch the door, I'm in trouble with him. He doesn't let me touch a door and he doesn't let me touch trash! If he catches me opening a door and the boys are with us, they are in trouble too! So, he got the hint and came around to the drivers door and opened the door, I explained he would now wait until I got in and he would shut the door gently once I was settled.
We got to the movie theater and I shoved candy in my purse and in his sweater pocket (I am still a mom on a budget...with a cheap husband...who is newly savings obsessed!) He walked right up to the counter and said, "I wanna see Kung Fu Panda 3". The employee gave him the total and Aaron slipped him the money. We worked through the math of how much change he would get back while we waited for our change (because I home-school and there is always time for math!). After our popcorn and drink purchase (which was double to price of the tickets btw!) we headed to the theater where Aaron decided to choose the seat in the absolute last row. Awesome movie, very cute.
We walked back to the car and Aaron opened my door with out a reminder! He's a fast learner! Then the slushy search. The 711 we went to had terrible flavors and the one good flavor wasn't frozen. This led us on a slushy hunt! We went in and out of 5 gas stations before finding slushies. Aaron got really good at opening my car door on this mad hunt.
Ready for my favorite part....at the last gas station he picked up a single, pink rose and brought it to the counter with his slushy, paid the cashier and gave me the rose....omg, I'm in love!!!!! On the way home he told me at least 3 times that this was the best day ever!This date and dates with my older son are so special to me, I must write about them each time so I can remember them forever!
~Laura
