Love Reconciled

I (Shar) had a great childhood!  There are ten in my family.  Two parents, four boys and four girls!  Growing up, my dad had his own business and made his work schedule around our school and extracurricular activities.  My mom growing up was a homemaker and piano teacher, until she went back to college and got her Master's Degree within six years (But, that's another story).  As a family we did everything together and we had fun. 

I feel that element is missing today.  Kids and adults do not really know how to have fun.  They watch too much television, play video games all day, and never seem to use their imagination or creativity to have a “simple” good time. 

My husband and I tried to make sure our daughter had a balanced life of school, church, piano, other lessons, friends and family time.  Below are a few activities we did as a family when I (Shar) was growing up with my siblings.  My hubby and I tried to incorporate these same fun activities into our lifestyle while our daughter was growing up.  None of the activities cost an arm and leg to do.  It's nice to participate in simple affordable clean fun.

Family Night
Monday evenings were family night.  No business appointments, friends, or outsiders. Just us!  Whether it was ice skating, roller skating, playing board games, going to a restaurant, playing cards, music, watching a movie with popcorn, free concerts or movies in the park, or just sitting around laughing and being together -- We had fun together!

Entertainment Book
Going out to eat was a luxury, but occasionally my dad and mom would tell us to hop in the car and my mom would bring the Entertainment Book.  She would let us go to the mall, pick out places to eat in the food court in pairs of two, and use the two for one coupon in the Entertainment Book -- That was a treat!  Believe it or not, we did this same activity with our daughter.  She use to feel so grown deciding what restaurant she wanted to go to using the Entertainment book.

Take a Drive
Looking at homes is entertaining!  Growing up, Sunday’s after church as a family, we drove around looking at homes in different neighborhoods.  My parents would sometimes drive us to the country and threaten to move us out there.  Some of us would cry and threaten to run away if they followed through with that promise.  Now that I look back, that whole scenario was probably entertaining to my parents.  However, not only was looking at homes different and fun, but we would get ice cream at Dairy Queen to make it more enjoyable.  To this day I love looking at homes and so does our daughter.  

Go to the Park
We always walked to the parks near my house growing up.  As a child I loved to run, swing, climb, walk, talk, scream, laugh and spend time with people I loved.  Going to the park was and still is enjoyable to me.  For children, that is all they need to make their day.  We took our daughter to the park 3-4 times each week to walk, play and ride her bike.  

Go to the Library
Every week we walked to the library with my Mom.  We would checkout tons of books, read them throughout the week and repeat the cycle again.  Not only was walking great exercise, but it developed a magnificent love of reading for me. Reading is engaging, free and fun!  Every single week we took our daughter to the library, probably 2-3 times per week.  In the summer the library has a schedule of wonderful activities.  When school was out, we incorporated library activities into our daughter’s fun-schedule.

As a Couple
If you have children, no children, or like us are empty nesters on the journey to retirement, make sure to schedule regular date or fun nights. 

• In advance put the day and time on a calendar and determine where you will go. 
• Be sure to look for discount coupons and check customer reviews to make sure you have a good experience. 
• Try something new and different so the routine will not get boring.  
• Do not talk about work, the kids (if you have any) or family (outlaws and in-laws) issues that may depress you. 
• Always talk about what made you fall in love with each other, or what made your partner notice you the first time they saw you?
• Couples at times in their lives need to be reminded as to WHY they chose each other, remain together and choose to love each other.
• Remember choosing to love and have FUN is a choice.

Love Reconciled is a YouTube Channel hosted by Char and Shar an interracial couple married over 27 years.  They share their journey of learning to live together in LOVE, WORK and PLAY.  They also share their debt free and minimalist lifestyle.  They share honest stories, testimonies and life experiences about the good, bad, victories and tribulations of their "happy imperfect" marriage throughout their journey.

Two ingredients to keep a relationship strong!
 

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