2.) If you are thinking about having children, you may or may not want to continue.
a.) Social misfits and those who prefer the "quiet" life - you are safe to continue.
b.) Social butterflies, those who prefer the "wild" life - carefully consider your options.....
Okay, now that the official "Notice" is out of the way, let me continue. (If anyone is still reading...."tap, tap tap....testing 1,2,3.....tap....is this thing on??")
Once or twice a month, or every other month, or so, Mare and I afford ourselves the opportunity to venture out - alone. (By "alone", I mean just the two of us.) I should specify. Whenever Nanny or Gram come to visit, we leave Baby Ruth and the KitKats with the lucky "Grand" and off we go, usually to dinner and a movie. Good times.
Our plan tonight was just that, well, except for the dinner part. In a concerted effort to consume low calorie, healthy treats, Mare whipped up a tasty dinner for us all. We then planned to go to a movie. You guessed it, the key word there was "PLANNED". We were very well intentioned. Dinner was planned and in the works in plenty of time. Pajamas were ready for the Chillin's. Nanny was set with her evening activities and bed time rhetoric. I even completed the set up of the two new car seats! We were Rockin' and Rollin'!
Now, who can tell me what car seats come in? Anyone? Yes, that's correct. They come in boxes. Very large boxes. We had two. What is the best toy EVER? (If you are connected to me on Facebook, you already know the answer, so no cheating!) YES! Excellent! CARDBOARD boxes that are large enough to hold a small child. What is better? (Yes, there is something even better.) Our boxes were large enough to hold not only one small child, nor two, but rather a small child AND an adult. I think it is needless to say but I'll put it out there anyway. Baby Ruth and the KitKats and I spent the next 40 minutes or so playing in the boxes. We played roller coaster, we hopped around the room in the box, we slid into the boxes, we tipped the boxes over (landing on the soft bag of stuffed animals). It was a grand time.
Next thing we knew, it was time for dinner and Mare and I had only 30 minutes to eat, change clothes and head to the movies. Not wanting to rush and get indigestion, we decided that a trip to the bookstore for some browsing and bonding would suffice. At least we would be out and about. So, we put the girls to bed, tucked everyone in (including Nanny) and bid them all good night. Then, we started thinking outside the box. Since we would be heading out anyway, why not stop by Target to return some umbrellas which we had purchased earlier in the day for the KitKats and which had promptly broken in one way or another. While in the shopping area, we decided, we may as well stop by Walmart to pick up the Ship to Site package that was now available. We would still have plenty of browsing and bonding time.
First stop, Target. I waited in the car while Mare made a successful return. We then headed over to Walmart. Now, I have not been in a Walmart in quite some time and I am very much a creature of habit, especially when it comes to stores and shopping. I go to the same places, walk the same route through the store, look at the same items and areas, and usually purchase similar items each time. (fyi, see # 2(a) above) Well, what a special treat it was to venture into a new realm.....the realm of Walmart. It is different there. I'm not sure what makes it so different. I mean, the products and prices are very similar to Target, so why the difference in the clientele? Alas, that is a discussion for another post. Anyway, immediately upon entering, I was drawn to the rack of "MMA" shorts. I had no idea that Walmart carried such items! Much to my dismay, the only pair in my size was a less than attractive pair of brown camouflage shorts. During my search, Mare had ventured off to pick up our shipment. I spent the next few minutes wandering aimlessly about in the front of the store looking for her like a lost child. Finally, I decided to venture off to the restroom all by my "big girl" self. Just as I entered the stall, she called me to let me know her exact whereabouts. Based on the background noise from my end of the line, I think it was unnecessary for me to tell her where I was.
Finishing my "business", I meandered through the store, browsing and picking up a few necessities that were on sale. (FYI, Toy Story band aids are only $1.68 right now) I then made my way to the back of the store for a joyful reunion with my date for the evening. She had also collected a few "necessities". (I am looking forward to drawing with the new glitter markers and Color Wonder paper! Hey, maybe we'll decorate our boxes!) We even managed to find some new, hopefully heartier, umbrellas for the KitKats. (As we perused the umbrella selection, I had the mischievous notion to open up ALL of the umbrellas and leave them for the night shift clean up crew. Of course, having worked in the retail world, I wouldn't dare do such a thing, but it made me giggle nonetheless.) (again, see #2(a) above)
Our work completed at Walmart, we checked the time and decided that, despite the late hour (it as nearly 9:00 PM), we would carry on with our plan and head to Barnes and Noble. After all, they are open until 11:00pm on Friday and Saturday nights; probably for folks just like us.
Upon our arrival at B&N, I insisted that we check the hours, just in case they did close at 10. I figured there was little point in going in if we had only half an hour. Mare, on the other hand, thought that would be plenty of time. Much to my delight, my extended hour hunch was confirmed and we decided to forge ahead.
"Heck", we thought, "maybe we'll stay until 10:30."
Mare said, "I don't care, we can even stay until 11:00, as long as I can go right to bed when we get home. I want to get up early and walk the dogs." (yep, just what I'm thinking about during a "night on the town" with my wife.)
Anyway, so in we went and decided to get crazy and go to the cafe'. We ordered caffeinated beverages and began our browsing. A couple of good finds later, we decided to settle into some seats and begin our bonding. Mare opened her magazine and I pulled out my laptop. She read, I composed. Sickening, the romance, isn't it?
Every now and again I read a quote to her. She showed me another magazine that she thought I might find interesting. I nodded in appreciation as I handed it back to her, barely able to take my fingers from the keyboard lest I not complete my work for the night. (By "work", I mean "composition", and by "composition", I refer to this Blog post.)
Yes, my friends, we live on the edge of romance and extremism. We are Livin' Large and Lovin' Life! I was not able to complete this while in the store. The "we will be closing in half an hour" announcement came over the p.a. system, and not wanting to be stragglers, Mare promptly paid for our purchases as I closed my laptop.
We exited the store and Mare then exclaimed something that every "husband type" wants to hear at least once in a while: "Oh my God, that feels so good, you have NO IDEA!"
Yep, she was referring to the balmy air outside the store. She had been quite chilly inside.
We have now returned home. Mare has gone to bed as planned, and I am unwinding from our adventures with my "Mac-Daddy", some blue corn chips and a Shipyard Summer Ale. Now who can top this evening?
C'mon, I dare ya!
;-)
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