Sure, you read about it all the time, how it is important to have that sacred space for just you and your partner, outside of parenting to reconnect as a couple. However, honestly, for years it sounded unreal. Much like the myth of the monster in Loch Ness.
First, we were afraid to hire a babysitter because our son was still a baby (and none of his grandparents live in the same city or, ehem, continent) and then, when we moved to a new country and were beginning to really consider it… boom, the pandemic hit. Needless to say, another two years went by without a proper “date night”.
Fast forward to last week, and the stars aligned. I managed to contact a baby sitter that is basically our neighbor, had her come home some random afternoon to get to know each other and the following night it finally happened: an early dinner on a nearby restaurant, just the two of us.
That same afternoon we had a couple meltdowns and I thought maybe we were not going to make it, but leaving the TV on made the trick (granted, it was not ideal but much needed). Our son was very confused about the fact that “our new friend” would visit so late, and even weirder, that mom and dad were going out.
Dinner was glorious; a couple of pisco sour drinks to mark the occasion were in order. Although two hours went by relatively fast, we really enjoyed them! Of course, glancing at the cell phone from time to time but savoring every minute of it.
We came back to find the little man still watching cartoons (because why wouldn’t he, right?) and more than ready to go to bed after skipping naptime at school. But all and all, ¡a success! The big question is… when will next date night be? Perhaps one every month sounds nice…
