I Need a Date!

When we got married we received seven picnic baskets as wedding presents.  All came with the well intentioned but oblivious comment of “We thought you could enjoy a picnic with each other before the game.”  Most of those picnic baskets are currently arranged in the corner of my kitchen and hold a variety of items including my tools.  Never once in fifteen years has one actually been used for a picnic.

Unless you live it, you don’t get it.  I didn't have to watch the show Friday Night Lights. I live it. Football is 24 hours a day 7 days a week for the majority of the year.  It’s not just Friday nights and it’s not just between kickoff and when the clock runs out. My coach is gone from the house before the sun comes up and he’s home long after it’s gone down.  Every season there are days that we don’t actually see each other.  If I didn't get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom I wouldn't have even seen his body in the bed.

In the past my job has had me traveling on the weekends.  I could attend the game on Friday night and then fly out Saturday morning and then return Sunday night. The joke at our house was that I could be gone and back before my coach even noticed that I wasn't at home.  He said he noticed but he did have to call one time and ask where exactly I was in the world. 

There used to be a respite at home, but now that he can watch game film on his iPad and even his iPhone he may be home, but he’s still working.  There are times that it seems that even when my coach is present in body at home, he’s absent in mind. Then there are the endless texts and tweets from players and other coaches. It seems as if he’s never truly away from work anymore.  

Now please don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining. I’m merely laying out the facts.  I knew what I was getting into when we got married.  I saw the hours that he kept and I still signed up for the part of being the wife of a coach. I love being the wife of coach and wouldn't trade it for the world.  What I am saying though is – I need a date. I need some one on one uninterrupted time with my coach.

The regular season is more than half way over.  The possibility of playoffs is on the horizon.  The goal at our house, as with most coaches’ families, is to be playing for the state championship on December 21. So with all that in mind, I need a date.  

I just want a date where the two of us sit can just enjoy each other for a few hours.  With the pressures of the season and all the craziness that is life, we need to take a moment to stop and unplug from everything around us. We need to sit and talk and laugh and just decompress a little from the stress that is football season. We need to take a moment to refocus our priorities and get set to finish the season.

 As much as I would like to think that my coach can read my mind and instinctively know my every want and need, he can’t and he doesn’t.  To avoid self-inflicted frustration on my part, I have to straight up tell him what’s going on in my head.  He’s busy game planning for next week’s opponent. He doesn’t have time to stop and wonder what’s going on in my head. With his schedule, he doesn’t have time to stop and wonder what’s going on inside his own head.  I’m the one that has decided that I need a date, so I’ve taken matters into my own hands.  I called and asked my coach if we could have a real honest to goodness date.  I told him that I want a date that involves no iPads, no iPhones, no texting, no tweeting kind of date.  (Of course with the exception of his head coach.  I’m not unrealistic enough to think that he can just ignore his boss for the evening. )

My coach agreed that it was time for a real date and he even agreed to the no technology request.  I did concede to let him respond to any text or call from his head coach – but only his head coach.  He gets the importance of stopping and getting off the crazy train that is life for a few hours and just spending time one on one with me.  He needs to take a break from coach mode and just be a husband who is in the moment with me. 

Our date tonight doesn’t have to be at some really nice or expensive restaurant. I prefer though that it not be at the Quick Trip as my coach is always threatening.  It doesn’t have to be some super romantic getaway or full of elaborate details.  It doesn’t need to involve days of planning or a major budget. It can be as simple as going out to eat. All that’s important on our date is that we are together, enjoying each other’s company and stopping to refocus on each other as we head to finish the season strong.

It’s the morning of our date and I’m still not sure what the plans are for the evening. What I can tell you is that I’m excited for some on one time with my coach and I know he’s excited too. If you’re like me and in desperate need of date, I encourage you to call your coach and ask him out and see what happens.  

I’m off to plan our date now. 

Cheering you on,
Laurel