Date night? What do we do?

The other night, hubby and I got a date night. It is a rare rare event in our home. So rare, if it was a steak, it would probably still be saying "moo".

We live an hour away from both of our parents, we do not know very many people I would consider close enough to watch my kids (one doesn't like mommy to go upstairs for 30 seconds to grab laundry) and with my husbands work schedule, we really only get to go on a date every couple of months. My best friend and her husband came up to stay for a two days and go to an event together and volunteered to watch the kids so we could go out.

Date nights before our little treasures used to be going 45 minutes up into the mountains for dinner at a riverside lodge, camping for the night or weekend, breakfast at a diner, I used to go to parties, I was a  "woo hoo!"girl, shopping for sexy lingerie, I had Wii bowling parties, UFC fight nights, never once did I worry about getting home quickly or worrying what was happening back at the house . We would just jump in his truck and go. So what is date night like now?

We hurried out the door while the kids were both taking a short nap, we went to a restaurant, we talked about the news from Boston, we talked about the world that will be left for our little men, I ordered one adult beverage and 3 drinks in felt tipsy (Yay for not being a drinker.), we ate and watched the people around us (Some young guys from the local community college baseball team were in front of us , an elderly couple clearly still in love, a family with children around the ages of 6, 4, 5-7 months, and one on the way, a father and son who were talking about school and sports, and a teenage couple who appeared to be on a first date or very new to dating each other.) Now that I think about it, we were surrounded by so many different stages in life. Young love, young adulthood, the child raising years, life with kids on the verge of leaving the nest, and life after the kids leave. Then we left. BUT, we didn't go home.

But where do you go and what do you do after dinner? We did what many home owners do on the weekends, we went to the home improvement store. Why? Because I could slowly go through every aisle I wanted and not worry about when the inevitable melt down was coming, or magic fingers adding things to the cart, or a child running wild through the store. My husband usually goes to stores alone, so he didn't get the enjoyment I was having. I picked out our garden, we talked about paint colors for our room, I planned my dream kitchen, I sat on toilets and we did a reenactment of the scene from "Couples Retreat" with the kid peeing in the showroom toilets at the store, we laughed, and then we went home...all before 8 pm. What has become of us?

We are parents to small humans who we love. As much as I want a break and to go out with my husband and have him to myself, I miss the kids when I am gone and look forward to that hug when I walk in the door. Date night has definitely changed from 4 years ago, but I value them more now than I did before. They are more precious when they do happen and being able to eat my dinner next to my husband, holding hands, and not sharing is almost like Christmas.

Lynea