evolution of a date

1992-1996 The romance years- Movies, dinners, slightly mormonish outings that included picnics and daytime festivals. lots of board games with friends


1996-1997 the year apart- lots of marathon phone calls where we said things like "you hang up first, no you hang up first..."


1997-1999 the early marriage years- no money, so lots of board games with friends. and getting used to the freedom that comes with adulthood. We could go out to eat at 2:00 in the morning if we wanted, and we did. Board games. Still lots of board games


1999-2004 the dink(double income no kids) heights years, part one- we would call people to come to dinner and then not serve them dinner until late at night because H was the slowest cook in the world. His sister dubbed him the midnight chef, and I still secretly call him this when he preps the vegetables rather than gets the fire started. Friday nights were uno nights where our friends would come over and we would play Uno until 1 in the morning. Board games, always board games.


2004-2008 the dink garden oaks years- this is when we got kind of crazy and spent almost every Friday and Saturday night going out to eat and then going to bars, drinking tequila and playing darts until the wee hours of the morning. And I will never forget the night when my girlfriend and I hit six bulls eyes in a row and beat our loser husbands' asses at cricket. It will always be remembered as the night of the six bulls eyes. And board games, standard.


2008-2010. The baby years. where we did cuddly, slightly mormonish family things, like picnics at discovery green and herman park. we spent mornings in bed, cuddled with out little bundle of joy marveling at the wonder that is your first child. Sunday evenings we were at our friends house eating bbq or at our house with friends playing bocci ball. An occasional game of scrabble while on vacation and the baby was asleep


November 2010 until November 2011- the drought (aka getting used to having two kids) we did nothing. we had no fun. sometimes, we would watch an on demand movie. there were no board games--we were just bored and way too old to have a newborn.


November 2011 until April 20th - the babysitter years. We found a babysitter. We like her. We (crazy me) trust that she will not kidnap or harm the children in anyway that involves a grand jury .


And now we have to figure out what to do with each other. We are simply too old to go to rudz and play darts until 2 in the morning. And we have almost nothing to say to each other unless it is about the kids.

Which brings us to tonight. So we went out to eat. And I listened to H complain about the food. And then we were out of things to do. Our board game friends are out of town--not having kids of their own, they are still in the dink fun years.

So we drove around town and I told him to pretend he was trying to impress me--where would he take me? His answer- to my house.

"I am not that kind of girl," I replied. "well, then I would just take you home." So he did, kind of... we drove by our old house and our old apartment. And then we went to rudz and I had tequila, he had a beer and he beat my ass with his freakish dart skills--although I will say I held my own for a while. We had fun- -just the two of us, no kids.

And then, back home by 11:00. Cinderella stays out later than me.

So here we are, somewhere between vomiting on the floor of Cyclone Anaya's and going to a Symphony Concert and having a nightcap at Mi Tierra (my parent's date of choice). This is 38, on a date.

And now I have to stop my blog because I have to....(h told me to write this sentence, but I will not finish what he wanted me to say, because I am not that kind of girl).