Between work, kids, carpool, cooking, cleaning and scheduling, most parents simply don’t have time for their love lives today. But the truth is that we don’t make time, isn’t it? Yes, it’s true that scheduling yet another thing to do feels tedious and overwhelming, but this is something we can do for ourselves—something that will make us feel better.

Date nights or date days (since lunch menus and matinee movie prices are much cheaper!) are all the rage, and it’s never too late to date your partner. If you’re not married or you don’t have a partner, it might be a little more difficult to find someone you want to spend a little time with, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t do it. On the contrary, everyone needs love and companionship, even those of us who have been burned.

Take your planner in front of you right now, and glance over this week’s schedule. Somewhere in there, there’s a blank spot—whether it’s a few hours on Saturday afternoon or fifteen minutes after the kids’ bedtime.

Pen—don’t pencil!—this in: “Date Night.” Doesn’t that feel good?

Your date night doesn’t have to be elaborate. It doesn’t even have to be a typical “date.” It can be any of the following things, or something from your own imagination…

• Dancing at a club, a studio, or in your living room to “your song”
• Cooking a sexy dessert together—fondue, anyone?
• Shopping together—cute new boxers or bras, maybe?
• Walking at the park, down the street, or in your office building
• Surprising  him/her with lunch—and staying to share
• Afternoon rendezvous during the lunch hour—if home is too far, maybe reserve a nearby hotel in advance? Come back after work for an overnight stay if grandma is willing to babysit!
• Single? Spend the time looking at local haunts you love—the bookstore? the pub?—to find people interested in the same things you’re in. You could also peruse the web personals if you like finding dates that way.
• Rent a movie and pop some popcorn the old-fashioned way.
• Make something that we take for granted in a convenience-filled world—maybe homemade ice cream?
• Go to the first place you went out together, where you proposed, where you conceived, or some other special place.
• Visit the zoo. Hey, it worked for Rocky and Adrian, right?