Let Go & Hang On

Happy Monday, friends!

This Monday morning may be a little tougher than most for you. Long holiday weekends tend to make Monday mornings feel earlier, sleepier and less motivated. You are so not alone. We have had an incredible last 3 days together and hate to see it have to come to an end. This 4th of July weekend represented much more for us than an extra day of “weekend.” To be honest, it was the start of something that our marriage desperately needed.

If you are a fellow photographer, you are familiar with the term “hustle.” Very familiar. But for our readers who aren’t, “hustle” is a term we use to drive us forward. It’s a word that looks different for every small business owner, but our goals are all the same: the provide excellent service and experiences for our clients, to power our businesses forward with all that we have (and then some), and to do our very best no matter what. In our particular situation, we both have “day jobs” added to our Hustle. We use quotes around “day jobs” because Reid’s job is not a day job. It’s an on-call job that requires him to travel out of state during the week frequently, sometimes with an hour’s notice. When there is not work needed to be done he is at home. He is the one who cares for our house, cooks dinner, takes care of the technical side of our business, and much more. Meanwhile, Brittany is working the 8-5 job. The Hustle for her involves answering emails, editing, and blogging early in the morning, on her lunch break, and maybe possibly during bathroom breaks…

When we’re at home together at night, we’re talking business, editing, blogging, designing albums, working on projects to improve our business, and hardly spending any time together as husband and wife. This season of life, the Hustle, is hard. Really hard. We work 14+ hours a day, sometimes 7 days a week, and it’s hard to flip the switch from Business Partners to Marriage Partners.

We share all of this because #1 we intend to always be honest and transparent with you and #2 because today’s Marriage Monday topic took a big U-turn. We have always believed in “dating your spouse.” Going from dating status, to engaged to married does not mean you stop dating! That is what we had planning to blog about today- dating your spouse. But wait… when do we date each other? Once a month? If that? We can’t sit here and tell you the importance of setting aside a distraction-free date night once a week when we are failing miserably at that very thing.

As wedding photographers, we work on the weekends, then prepare the couple’s blog and final gallery at the beginning of the week, then work on other aspects of our business for the rest of the week. By the time Friday rolls around, it’s time to gear up and do it all over again. So we had to take a look at our week and decide we were going to be intentional about our time together. It makes the most sense for us to set aside Friday nights for date night. No business talk, no emailing, just Reid and Brittany enjoying being husband and wife. To be honest, it makes sense for our marriage’s sake, but not our business’s sake. For the past 2 years, we have only scheduled portrait sessions on Friday evenings during golden hour, because Reid is least likely to be called out of town for work on Fridays. Giving up our Friday evenings for sessions is more than uncomfortable. It’s downright scary, because we always put our business first, before anything else. But what we’re learning is that if our business exists first and foremost to help equip couples with the tools and knowledge to build solid foundations for their marriages, than we can not keep placing it before our own marriage!

So starting now, Reid & Brittany are closed on Friday night! We’re re-energizing, refueling, and reconnecting with each other so that we can grow in our marriage and hopefully be able to help others grow in theirs. If you are married, are you intentionally dating your spouse?

Have a fabulous Monday!