The Value of a Night Out

I love spending time with Daniel. Nothing bring me more joy than watching him giggle with glee as we play a game of make-believe. Sometimes I'm so awestruck by my love for him that I have to nuzzle up to him and sniff his hair to fully grasp the reality of it. I wouldn't trade being a stay-at-home-mom for anything, and I know how lucky I am to be able to spend so much quality time with him. But...and this is a BIG but...that doesn't mean I don't fully enjoy a night out alone with Peter or my girlfriends, away from Daniel. In fact, I don't just enjoy it, I CRAVE it on occasion. I NEED it to maintain my sanity, and I think that makes me a better mother to Daniel in the long run.

I've never been one of those mothers who brags about how many consecutive hours she has devoted solely to her child. From the very beginning, I treated myself to the occasional facial appointment or ladies' lunch, and I rarely felt guilty about it (rarely, but not never!). I knew myself well enough to know that if I cloistered myself up in the house with no one to talk to but my infant son and lazy dog, I'd go completely postal. I was lucky enough to have both sets of parents close by, and they were usually more than happy to babysit. Peter and I took advantage of this privilege early on, with dinner "dates" to restaurants to which Daniel could not yet accompany us. It was a great way for Peter and I to stay connected during those early days of new parenthood; time set aside during which we could have a conversation about something other than how best to diaper Daniel so that he wouldn't leak all over himself (though, to be completely truthful, we usually ended up talking about how great our new baby was).

Now that Daniel is a toddler, I've come to appreciate these adults-only dinners even more. It feels like a luxury to be able to dine at a restaurant that doesn't feature chicken fingers on its menu. It's a treat to sit at the table and not have to hide the salt and pepper shakers. I can eat my meal slowly and deliberately, and not have to sneak in rushed mouthfuls of my food while simultaneously coaxing Daniel into taking a bite of his. To go out to a restaurant and relax -- there's the fantasy of every mother of a curious and restless toddler! Throw a movie into the mix, one viewed at the actual theater and not just "On Demand," now I'm in ecstasy!