Last night Jason and I actually had a "date night." The "date night" is an endangered species around here so it was definitely an advance in a species surviving for us to be able to go out to dinner without worrying about babies.
It's funny though, because by the time the kids were fed, bathed, and ready for bed...and then we were showered and I was prettied with face and hair, we were all but too exhausted to even want to go anywhere. Then the rain started pouring down and then sideways due to the hurricane that was looming off of the other coast of Florida blowing is "feeder bands" over to our side of the state. Not the ideal romantic evening that I had imagined. Nevertheless, we persevered and went to dinner.
While we were waiting for our table we happened upon some old friends that we hadn't seen or spoken with since Finley was born 8 months ago. We had fallen into that black hole that is parenting and it was like we had all but vanished. I think it's very difficult, unless you make an extreme effort, to keep up with friends that are just not in the same place in their life as your family.
They spend their time working, advancing their careers, traveling, going to concerts, sleeping, working out...everything that basically we don't do anymore. Our time is spent fitting things in between nap times, making sure there are enough diapers, wiping hands, mouths, and little bottoms, cleaning up when "mama, I made a mess," and doing all this while still be as animated as a cartoon character.
Not only is it difficult to relate to their lifestyle, but I am so sure that they absolutely love hearing about all the mess that is our children. I am not saying that there is anything wrong with either one of these lifestyles, I am just saying that it is too much work to worry about not boring people when you are always talking about your kids. If you are a chef I'm sure that food is one of your main topics, and so being a mom, my kids are my main topic. That is not all there is of me, but it is a main dish.
Anyway...this new FlyLady thing is kicking my butt, in a good way. I have so much more pride in what I accomplish, even if it is just a babystep. I did slack off a bit last night, though, because it 's kind of difficult to shine a sink after 3 martinis, you know? But my oh my were they goood martinis!
2 comments:
Sure know what you're talking about. Anyone that we know that is our age has MUCH older kids, and those who have kids our age are MUCH younger - both hard to relate to. We've moved around enough with business that we're not that close to family or friends so I sure do understand. I do think you're pretty lucky to go out on a date and not have to run errands or catch up on grocery shopping, etc. It is rare in our house - very rare indeed.
Hey Shannon --
Finally caught up to you on your blog site -- You've done a great job with this! Just wanted to tell you that I am so glad that you let us crash your date night, that I LOVED hearing about the main dish in your life and that though we are all busy, I hope we don't let 8 more months go by before it happens again! You did not bore me at all with talk of your girls - quite the contrary; I am just amazed at the whole concept of motherhood. I admire you for all you have done and the selflessness you must adpot in order to be the fantastic mother that you are. I just wish that I had shared in the last 2.5 years more than I have. Though our lifestyles are different, our needs are not all that different when you boil it down. I still want to be your friend, no matter what phase in life we are in. Please don't ever worry about boring me with talk about Piper and Finley. I am just as excited to hear about them today as I was when you called me to tell me that you were first pregnant.
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