As anyone who has or has had small children knows, spending time with your spouse, alone, is nigh unto impossible.
You know what I miss? Holding Brian's hand. Whenever we used to go out, we used to hold hands. Even if it was just walking from the car to the grocery store.
But that all changes when you have children. Your arms are full. There are no spare hands left.
In fact, last summer, I remember my mom was here watching Caleb, and I had one of those last prenatal check-ups with my midwife. Brian came, too, and we left Caleb behind. We had a quick stop at the store, and we held hands. I remember thinking how good it felt to do that.
Obviously, we never go out on dates. In fact, I go out at night... approximately never. I can't tell you the last time I've been out at night. While Caleb is more flexible, and we could easily take him somewhere (not ridiculously late), Silas is not. Babies must be in bed early, and that is that. (I don't make the rules. I just follow them.)
Since we don't live near either set of grandparents, nor doting aunts, we are stuck. There are few people with whom we'd really leave our children. (Even if we did live near family, it would probably only be once in a blue moon we would leave them anyway. Our children are, after all, our responsibility.)
When the new Star Wars movie came out, my dad and brother didn't waste any time before going to see it. Since Brian and I can't go and do something like that, we settled for a review from my dad. When it came out on DVD, we pondered getting it. "Do we really want to spend the money?" I asked, always the cheapskate. "But it won't go down in price for a long time," I added. My dad informed us of the sale price at Target, for $16.99, so we decided to go ahead and take the plunge. After all, we do so little for ourselves.
I am happy to report that it just came yesterday, and Brian and I have designated Friday night as our date night. Silas is down around 6;30, and Caleb at 7:30 each night. Yet, even though we are together in the living room, very often I'm doing a light chore (right now I am cleaning up my recipe books/papers), and Brian is often doing some school work. This Friday, however, all work will be shoved aside. (And I mean SHOVED, as in "MOVE OVER work".)
I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to it. I might even make a special treat. Vanilla pudding? Oh, and not the box. The real deal. Or perhaps ice cream will do.
I can't wait to have a date with my husband!
