Everyone is told when they have kids to make sure you go out on a "date night" with your significant other, as often as possible. For most couples I think once a month is a reasonable goal and reality. For someone who spends 1/2 of the month away from the partner, once a month is hard to achieve. However, a few months ago, M and I promised each other we would make every effort to do just that. I planned the first one- a couples massage and he planned the next- canoeing. I could have used the massage after the canoe trip, but it was a lot of fun, nonetheless. We got a little less creative after that and then once again got away from going out alone altogether. We did have the chance to go out sans off-spring for a couple of birthday celebrations, but we were not alone. Last night, we finally had plans to do it again.
After work, I met M and the girls at Rita's ( a local water-ice place) to have a pre-dinner desert with some friends. Yes, a bit odd, but the day was so beautiful we couldn't resist! As I was putting JL in the van, I asked her, "do you want to get mad at me now or later?" She responded, "later" so I buckled her in and drove us home. After we made them dinner, I told them that mommy and daddy were going out for dinner...queue the tears..."Who's coming to watch us?" asked JL in a whimpering voice. I told her it was our regular sitter. As expected, she got mad. She does this because she thinks when M is home, he takes me away from her and we might not come home. This was reinforced when I went to the hospital while she was at school one day and didn't come back for 4 days.
When our sitter Miss K finally arrived, the tears did as well. Then the bribing started! M suggested that if JL stops crying that they would bake a cake when she got home from school the next day. She liked that but wanted us to up the ante. So we threw in a trip to the park and she was satisfied. Then, my tech savy 3 year old grabbed the sitters iPad and started playing Angry Birds and shooting videos of herself. :) We quickly kissed the girls good bye, through some treats at the dogs and ran out the door!
With a bottle of wine and some beer in tow ( we live in NJ, most places are BYOB) we set out for a nice night.We went out to a great Thai place right near the house. We talked about our plans to move to a bigger house, what was going on with his company, recent discoveries of friends' illness and how to cope with a recent loss. The fact that there were few people in the restaurant and we could actually hear each other, made it that much nicer. We dined on some delicious cuisine and absorbed the great atmosphere. We both declared we wanted to go to Thailand someday. M even asked if we could sleep there, it was that peaceful!
Upon or arrival home, we half expected JL to be awake or at least on the couch with Miss K. Instead, both girls were fast asleep upstairs, and it was only 8:45pm. Amazing how less than 2 hours away from the girls gave everyone the space they needed.
M has another 4-day trip coming up, and I hope the girls got enough Daddy time to hold them over til his return. I know spending that time alone will help me!
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