Bizzarro Date Night
We have five children. This makes it challenging for my husband and I to go out on dates.
Okay, the oldest is married, but that means she isn’t here to babysit anymore. She is in full time school, works full time, and writes on this blog so she’s pretty busy. The second oldest is always coming and going with work, so he isn’t the best babysitting option. It isn’t easy for Scott and I to get away and spend time with each other, but we know it is important to make it happen.
Last week he wanted me to go to dinner with him before he left on a business trip. I tried to find childcare, determined to make it work. I have a couple of friends who will watch our kids, and I have my mom. After driving all over two counties, depositing my precious offspring with various friends and family, we were off.
The car ride was two hours long. It was amazing having full conversations with no interruptions and nobody needing to drink or pee or eat. I happily sat there watching the scenery and listening to music, exhaling every now and then as I began to unwind. Scott and I chatted about nothing important. I think we even had a small spat but I was too relaxed to work up enough energy to care about being right, so it fizzled out. (Yes, that small realization has been noted and stored for later use.)
My husband loves to watch, “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.” Even more, he loves to try out the restaurants featured on the show. He loves good food. I love food I don’t have to cook, so I was more than willing to try out the new place he discovered. It’s called Bizarro Italian café. The atmosphere was festive and it looked like they used random thrift store items to decorate. There were bicycles, upside down Christmas trees, and chairs hanging from the ceiling. All of the tables were so close together, it almost felt like we were all eating together.
Scott ordered the clam linguine. I ordered, THE CHICKEN. It came with roasted Brussels sprouts. I remember hating them when I was a child. I would cry and gag and refuse to eat them. I knew that wouldn’t go over well in public, and we were on a date, so I vowed to love them. Turns out, it was easy to do. Clearly, my mother didn’t know how to roast Brussels sprouts back in the day, because the ones they served me, were nothing like I remembered. Scott equally enjoyed his meal. I had fun watching him get so excited over each bite. Even though clams gross me out, I widened my eyes in amazement when he gave me a bite. We agreed it was indeed a great place to eat.
It made me want to try more places from the show, if it made him this happy.
More than the food, I just had fun being there with Scott. Even the bathroom was a little adventure. The door had two handles and I had no idea which one worked. I heard people laughing at me as I tried in vain to find my way in. I gave up and slinked back to our table. Scott told me to just push the door open. I refused to try again until the people who were laughing had exited the building. Finally, I made my way in. It was dark and had velvet draperies and small lamps sitting on crooked little tables. There was a scratchy sounding radio playing the names of 750 hobo names. As creepy as that was, I was glad I had experienced that strange moment. Scott laughed as I tried to talk him into going into the women’s bathroom to see it for himself. The evening was simple, but made for a nice memory.
What did I learn from that outing?
1. It’s worth the effort to go out and have fun together.
2. New interests might spark a new and fun hobby.
3. Roast your Brussels sprouts; don’t boil them.
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