Bringing the fun back

Recently I've felt a bit in the doldrums, so has Mr M.  Neither of us have been able to put our finger on it  but there's been a general feeling of "meh" in the air. Don't get me wrong, we're both very happy and we have a good relationship with each other although I do feel we're stuck in a bit of a rut at times.

Last night it finally dawned on me. 

We need to bring the fun back into our relationship. 

We're so focused on the mundaneness of day-to-day life it seems that most of our conversations revolve around which swimming lessons are the best, whether I'll ever get my little girl into Brownies, what we're having for tea or which room needs decorating next.  We're fortunate to have good babysitters so we get to go out often, normally for a meal, but then those conversations are still there and we're too busy acting like grown-ups to have fun. We were watching Who Do You Think You Are last night (William Roache episode...his grandparents lived at Alton Towers) and reminiscing about how much fun we had the last time we went to Alton Towers. Then I realised that was 2002! Ten years ago.

We used to have fun together, we still do as a family and lots of it, but I want to have fun with my husband. I want to ride on roller coasters again until I feel like throwing up, I want to go to the pub and get completely legless - I just want to go out, be a bit silly and have fun so we can forget about all the trials and tribulations of family life and, even more so, our working lives.  I want us to laugh and giggle like we used to. We were silly once upon a time, and it felt good.

So I'm bringing the fun back. And it's starting with Keith Harris and Orville.

Yesterday I impulse bought a record player (I know) as Mr M was getting some stuff out of the loft and my box of records came with it.  We decided to buy a record player and spend some time listening to old records. I think we'll have a date night at home, listening to old records (I actually own this one and this, oh yes.) and I'll make some retro food and drinks. We don't have to go out to have fun, it's just making an effort.

Instead of just going out for nice meals (my waistband will thank me...) we're going to do something different - we'll go bowling and play air hockey, go to to gigs to see new bands,  find a comedy night, get dressed up and go somewhere posh for drinks (always a giggle as we never fit in...) and more importantly, get ourselves to a theme park! I'm going to plan a camping weekend in our van for just the two of us next Spring - we'd have a ball and was just the type of thing we liked doing pre-children.  

I'm hoping that by changing our routine and doing something different, it will make us feel more perky and well, more like us again and less like ageing parents!

What do you do to inject fun into your relationship? Ideas are always welcome!