Years ago, perhaps when Jenny and I were going through our premarital counseling, I read that one of a man’s greatest relationship needs is for recreational companionship – sharing interests with his significant other. That idea made sense to me. Although I’m not a social person by nature, it can be nice to have company for my various pursuits. Jenny is my best friend, so it seems natural to want to do stuff together. As it turns out, Jenny is a fan of recreational companionship as well.

Here are some of our common interests:

Live Sports – I’m a fairly big sports fan, but Jenny doesn’t generally watch sports on TV. She would rather read or surf. However, actually going to the game is fun for her. Our first two dates were a Mavs game and a Stars game. A few times a year, we get tickets to see a game in person. We’ve seen the Stars, Rangers, Baylor Bears football, RoughRiders, and Tornado, among others. Before we had kids, we even got a Stars mini-plan a couple of years. Usually it’s just the two of us, and it makes for a great date night.

Cycling and Yoga – A couple of years ago, Jenny discovered spin classes at her gym and loved them. She got me interested in cycling, and last month we got road bikes so we could ride together. I have more experience on a real bike, but she knows more about the fitness aspects of cycling from her spin classes, so we can learn from each other. Plus it’s just fun to go ride together. Our first race is in three weeks. We also practice yoga together on occasion, either at home with a yoga video or at the gym. I’ve mostly suppressed my urge to make snarky comments throughout the session.

Video Games – On our first pseudo-date, we talked about gaming. I hadn’t known many female gamers, so she earned instant brownie points there. I do more actual game playing, at least on our PS3, but Jenny is the one who reads Game Informer and keeps track of what’s happening in the industry. When we can find a good two-player co-op game, we enjoy playing together, usually on RPG/adventure games like Baldur’s Gate or platformers like the Mario series.

Travel – Having young kids makes traveling more difficult right now, but we do enjoy getting away when possible. Cruising, hiking in the mountains, camping, lying on the beach, or simply going somewhere for the weekend to see a football game or to race all sound good to us. Once the boys get older, we’ll be able to take them with us and get away more often. We want our boys to see the world and experience a variety of cultures so they know there’s life outside suburban Texas.

What types of recreational activities do you and your significant other enjoy?