Kendrick and I go to the movies a lot.

It’s partially because we really like going to the movies – I personally enjoy the experience of being required to do absolutely nothing at all except for ingest salt-encrusted carbohydrates for two hours – but also partially because over time going to the movies has kind of become our default date. We don’t even usually go to dinner beforehand, because honestly? I am a crazy popcorn person and would rather eat more popcorn than less popcorn, and I don’t want to spoil my appetite with things like actual food.

Default Dating is something that happens to lots of couples, especially those who have been together for awhile. And there’s nothing wrong with this, but it’s not exactly…exciting. Or memory-making. It feels good just to get out, of course, but not like “dating” used to feel, which was sort of…great.

We make an effort to do lots of out-of-the-box-style activities with our son pretty much every weekend, but it’s rare that we take off on an adventure on our own. Over the years, I’ve come to realize that doing cool stuff together can be something that sort of gets away from you if you don’t pay attention.