The Grown Up Table.

Last Saturday evening, the Mister and I had an unexpected, but entirely welcome, evening to ourselves. (We have been waiting almost fourteen years for this.) Thing 1 was babysitting, and Thing 2 was at an sleepover/birthday party. At the end of a long, busy day at work, the last thing either of us wanted to do was go home and cook, so we decided to go out. And lo and behold, the fickle Gods Of Dining Out were smiling on us: we had a gift certificate for a nifty, new place in town, and we were able to get a reservation right away. (I called at around 5, and the young woman who answered the phone delicately advised me that the table was reserved again for 8:00, and we would have to be gone by then. I gently enlightened her to the fact that in two and a half hours, I could eat several meals, and have been known to have done so in the past.)

When we got there, I was reminded once again, how nice it is to eat dinner with one other adult, not have any crayons on the table or any server squatting down to take my order after having introduced himself as "The Caveman, and I'll be enhancing your experience tonight", or being asked if I'd like fries with that. There was no one loudly announcing another diner's birthday, nobody spinning a wheel, and no anthropomorphic cartoon characters bounding up to my table making balloon animals. It was just the Mister and myself and the staff, who kept a respectful and much-appreciated distance throughout.

The gift certificate was for $100, and we wanted to use up the whole thing in one swoop, so after deciding on our meals, we discovered that we were only up to about 60 bucks. The Mister had decided not to have any alcohol, so it was up to me to take one for the team and have another glass of Riesling, to pad the bill. We also had to add a salad for us to share, and I, yet again, had to step up and order dessert. (It was exhausting. The things I do to make my family happy.)

All the while, we talked about work, and the kids, and the house and the yard and the summer and the clients and other people in the restaurant (always a favorite topic for the two of us...."do you think they're on their first date?", "No, she ordered a Caesar salad, it's certainly not a date at all, let alone a first one".) And all the while I was reminded of what a nice man I married, and how, as much as you adore your children, it's important to remember why you became a couple in the first place, and how nice it is to be a person, and not a parent, for a few hours. (But not for two and a half of them. Let's not go crazy, here.)