Nurturing A Marriage

Now:

Nurturing our marriage is important to us. About three years ago we started to "run away from home." We do this about twice a year, and one of those times is always for our anniversary.Wonderfully romantic! What we do is pack our bags, put them in the car, but don't say a word to the kids. We don't want them to have time to plan a party. Then we tell the kids that we are going out for the evening, however, around midnight we call home and tell them that we are not coming home. I think we really only fooled them the first and maybe the second time we went. Now, they ask us, "Are you coming home?" This year was different, the kids were all away so we stayed home ALONE. That rarely happens. We enjoy having time for just us and we have discovered that the whole family benefits.

Then:

Nurturing a marriage and quadruplets at the same time is not easy. The kids' pediatrician told us that parents of multiples have a high divorce rate. So, with my in-laws help we made plans to maintain and nurture our, so far, happy marriage. You really need support from relatives or friends to do this. We were blessed by Gary's parents. The first six months of the children's lives they took the kids one weekend a month and we took off. Usually, we slept through the whole weekend, but at least we were both able to sleep and be awake at the same time. After the first six months they then took the kids about two times a year. One of those times was always for our anniversary. That was wonderful! If you are raising kids you really need to make time to get away just as a couple. Your kids will be the ones who really benefit.