Issue link: https://fredparent.uberflip.com/i/1020932
6 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • September 2018 PUBLISHER Leigh Anne Van Doren Tabitha & Jamie Nelle's mom EDITOR Chris Jones Quincy, Hayden & Olive's dad MEDIA & ADVERTISING DIRECTORS Megan Walsh: Mia, Noelle, and Adelaide's mom DESIGN & PRODUCTION Cheryl Carter, President, Carter Creations Alex, Kate & Jackie's mom WEBMASTER Karen Charney Joshua & Spencer's mom SOCIAL MEDIA Brenda Sapanghila Archer, Maddox & Oliver's mom CALENDAR & COOL THINGS TO DO ELETTER Leigha Pecher Jake and Luke's mom EDUCATION AND INFANT ELETTERS Debra Caffrey Aidan's mom parent fredericksburg & family Entrepreneur of the Year PROUD FOUNDING MEMBER ADVERTISING PHONE 540-429-3572 EMAIL leighanne@fredericksburgparent.net CALENDAR & SOCIAL MEDIA E-MAIL webmaster@fredericksburgparent.net EDITORIAL PHONE 540-429-3572 E-MAIL fredparenteditor@gmail.com SNAIL MAIL P.O. Box 7884, F'burg, VA 22404 www.fredericksburgparent.net The publishers reserve the right to reject any advertisement, editorial or listing that does not meet the publication's standards. No part of this magazine may be reproduced with out permission. Listing and advertising rates are available upon request. Every effort has been made to assure the accuracy of the information con- tained herein, however, the publisher cannot guarantee such accuracy. Listings and advertisements are sub- ject to typographical errors, ommissions and/or change without notice. For terms and conditions please visit our website at www.fredericksburgparent.net © Copyright 2018 Nurture, Inc. All rights reserved. LIKE facebook.com/ FredericksburgParent SIGN UP www.FredParent.net TWEET twitter.com/fredparent PIN www.pinterest.com/ fredparent FOLLOW @fredparentmagazine I've always loved fall for the reason I love Sundays—its beauty, stillness, and tranquility. During the fall, I love hearing the breeze whip through the treetops when I'm on a walk through the neighborhood. I enjoy watching the leaves change color as they sprinkle landscape with red, gold, and orange. And I'm energized by the smell of fall spices in the foods we eat and yes, the drinks we enjoy (Southern Tier has a great fall brew called Warlock!). Most of all, I love fall because it means early shut downs, good books, and normal schedules. I pour a lot of time and energy into my children during the summer and I try to maximize it. I know once school begins, the focus shifts to school work, sports, and weekends as the center of family fun. This leaves more time in the evenings for me to invest in my marriage. While I get good time in with my wife throughout the summer, we're playing parent tag (Pool time, you're it! Library day, you're it!) more than we are enjoying one another. This makes fall a wel- come change of pace for us both. Marriage is hard work. Mix in children and it becomes something you have to be intentional about maintaining—like cutting grass in summer (Wondering where I'm going with this one, huh?). In July, our HOA hit us with a notice about our grass. It was growing so fast and we were so busy, we couldn't keep up. We had to get purposeful to stay on top of it. Marriage is like that. When your marital lawn is unkempt, it's obvious. You may not have an HOA calling you out, but you and your spouse notice the overgrowth. That's when it's time to cut the grass—date nights and a down time. I used to overthink date nights, which are the equivalent of having a professional landscaper come in and cut the grass, weed the garden, mulch the beds, and trim the hedges. I wanted to plan the perfect evening out eating, drinking, talking, and if time permitted, seeing a movie. Yes, we all love those nights, but I've come to learn that any time alone is welcome. It can be grabbing a coffee and chatting, picking up takeout and looking at old photos, or dinner and a walk through downtown or in a park. As couples, we excel at the one-time event, but what of we took the time to plan these regularly? We spend time and energy planning our children's sports and activities with great pride, perhaps we should put same effort into our relationship. We need to plan dynamite date nights. We owe it to our kids to model wonderful, love-filled relationships for them. The marriage is the most important relationship in the home. I love my kids as much as the next person, but I love my wife more and my kids know that and appreci- ate it. I can tell because every time I hug my wife in their presence, my kids flock around us and it becomes a family hug. We're constantly filling our children's love tanks. It's vital to fi ll our spouse's as well. As I bid you farewell, take my challenge of deliberately planning more dates. It's one step in doing our best to be our best for each other. Our kids are watching. Change of SEASON, Change of FOCUS WRITTEN BY CHRIS JONES letter to readers