Something I have been keeping track of in a paper journal, but not in this blog are Mark and my "10 Great Dates". Now, listen here:

Mark's very generous and thoughtful mother put together a huge box of individually wrapped gifts, each relating to a great date from the book "10 Great Dates Before You Say I Do"*. The idea is to read each date's chapter, do the exercises as homework, open the accompanying gift and discuss the chapter's theme during a date. 

I would never have thought I would take part in something like this, but when someone is thoughtful enough to put such a wonderful package together just for us, I can't resist.

And so, on to Date #1:

On Easter Sunday Eve, we cracked open the book and read the first chapter: Sharing Hopes, Dreams and Expectations. The exercise was to rate from 1 to 5, eight important areas to a couple: commitment and security, companionship and friendship, sexuality and sensuality, affection and tenderness, encouragement, intellectual closeness, mutual activity and building a family. The next day,  we went to the Eggspectation** in the Old Port for breakfast and discussed. 

After having been together for a little over 6 years and having lived together for about 4, we have already shared our hopes and dreams many, many times. However, we've never explicitly (ok, maybe during a few fights over the years) discussed our expectations of each other and it was insightful to focus on this part of the date. The gift Mark's mother chose for Date #1 was a journal and pen, both of which we decided to use to keep track of each date, i.e. write a few notes, attach the homework and where the date took place. I think it'll be funny to look back on this journal in 15 or 20 years and see what we thought of our relationship just 6 years in.

Stay tuned for Date #2!

*For the record, Mark and I are not about to  say I do. 

** Man oh  man has Eggspectation ever gone downhill! That's my last visit for sure!