Family Life

Our neighbour declared that I must take Debbie out to dinner, in compensation for leaving her stuck at home with the kids by herself for a week, while I was in Hungary. Friends at church proclaimed that I must take Debbie out to dinner, seeing as she’d just recovered from a bout of illness and the boys were well enough to leave with a babysitter. And one of Debbie’s piano students offered to babysit. So Debbie and I went out to dinner tonight.

We wanted to try someplace new. So I asked for suggestions at work, phoned to book a table, and off we went, kid-free, the whole evening ahead of us. It was a very nice restaurant, open, airy, modern, filled but not crowded, with a happy, friendly buzz. An elderly pianist played jazz on a grand piano in the center of the room. He was later joined by a gentleman playing a double-bass. The food was good (pheasant, mushrooms and cheese baked on focaccia bread), the prices were moderate, and the staff were welcoming and helpful.

It felt odd going out to a fancy restaurant having nothing to celebrate. In the last four years, the only times we’ve done that have been to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries or pregnancies. Recently it’s gotten a little complicated celebrating all those things individually, so we’ve taken to combining events into one outing. Going out to dinner just for its own sake, just for fun, is a novel experience in our parent era.

It was a great evening, just the two of us. Many thanks to those who kindly babysat.

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