Date night for long-marrieds: novelty is key. However…

47345502 The world is all atwitter (heh) over the Obama’s date nights. (NY Times: If They Can Find Time for Date Night …; LA Times: First Couple’s date night a fascination and inspiration. Jon Stewart, however, was not impressed: “How do you compete with that? Take it down a notch, dude. By the end of your term, you’re having NASA write her name on the moon in laser.”)

It turns out, it is possible to compete with that. NY Times: Reinventing Date Night for Long-Married Couples: Brain and behavior researchers say many couples are going about date night all wrong:

Simply spending quality time together is probably not enough to prevent a relationship from getting stale… The goal is to find ways to keep injecting novelty into the relationship. The activity can be as simple as trying a new restaurant or something a little more unusual or thrilling — like taking an art class or going to an amusement park. The theory is based on brain science…

Robbie WigleyIt is possible to go overboard on the novelty, however. “C’mon, honey. It’s cold, it’s windy, it’s pouring rain. Let’s go camping!” Yep, that’s my sweetie, looking like a hazmat worker but still as cute as ever, trying to keep warm and dry at Frontenac State Park on Saturday night. Let’s just say it was a memorable experience.

 

 

6 Comments

  1. Patrick Enders said:

    Poor Robbie.

    There’s something to be said for canceling a camping trip if the weather report predicts “rainy with a high of 50.”

    June 8, 2009
  2. Robbie Wigley said:

    Thanks for the sympathy all… I must admit by the end of this adventure I was a bit cranky!

    June 8, 2009
  3. Bright Spencer said:

    Next time, reserve a spot at one of those camp sites set up with the geothermal hook up. 🙂

    June 8, 2009
  4. Tracy Davis said:

    Griff, for the reference about presidential date nights (Coolidge, not Obama) that I mentioned today when we recorded the radio show, here’s the Wikipedia entry for the “Coolidge effect“, about the stimulus of novelty in relationships.

    June 8, 2009
  5. Vicki Dennis said:

    I can’t speak for others, but moving to India has put quite the “novelty” back into planning date nights for us. Interesting, different … not necessarily recommended, however.

    June 10, 2009

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