It was here: the one evening in a blue moon that my husband and I actually got to go out with no diaper bag … eat a meal with no chaos … complete two sentences with no interruptions … and relax in a sea of anonymity without fear of what our kids were doing in a public setting. Okay, maybe that’s a little harsh. To be honest, we really have very good children. But every parent needs a break now and then. And this was definitely one of those times.This date night included dinner (on the run, but I took what I could get) and then a concert! Grandmama and Granddaddy were in town for graduation, so they would care for our monkeys while we got some alone time. Well, alone amongst thousands of concert-goers, but you get the idea. When our first child was little, we’d make grandiose plans for date nights and Grandma weekends … then end up falling asleep early. Ah, the best laid plans. With a new two-year-old in the house -- and one who didn't rest well at all -- we were more sleep-deprived than ever, but had learned to take time for ourselves. That meant leaving the house and spending quality time together doing grown-up things and trying not to talk about the kids for a few hours.
We met some great folks on our evening out, including a restaurant owner and his wife, a shoe store manager and his sis, and even a local morning DJ out on a date night of her own. My husband took my hand as we milled around the amphitheater in search of a cool drink. These days, my hands were usually holding sticky, wiggling little fingers rather than clasped around my husband. It was nice to be me for just a little while, as an alternative to Mom.
The show was hot and loud! We danced, we shouted, we sang along. No sippy cups, bathroom trips, spilled fries, or pacifiers. It was a wonderful evening, and we had great fun. But then it slipped in -- “The boys would have loved it when…” Yes, the stroke of midnight had come, our carriage turned back into a pumpkin, and my glass slippers back into flip-flops. But, ya know, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
