Date Night

Valentine's Day came two days late for us, but we celebrated with a scrumptious dinner at Violet in Santa Monica, followed by an acoustic show by Glen Phillips at McCabe's. He was OK, somber and maudlin at first until he warmed up mid-set. His opening act, though, was great and we're so glad we made it in time to see him.

The night off away from the kids couldn't have come at a better time. It had been awhile, and we were due. Especially after the morning, which really wasn't that bad, but was simply Kevin's turn to be fed-up with every annoying scream, cry and wiggly move.

Away from them over a nice dinner, we were able to gain a little perspective. We talked about how this stage of our life, filled with needy and annoying, is fleeting. It won't be long, we figure, until the weekend mornings won't be so excruciating, as Holden will learn to work the remote control and Riley will be interested in television. As it is now, everyone in the house is forced awake at the crack of dawn. Riley can't be trusted to hang by himself in the living room, and he's so busy and into everything, there's no sleeping through him. Then, their lives will be filled with friends, sports, books, video games and whatever else interests them that keeps them from needing us around the clock.

So while we sometimes mourn the loss of down time, nice restaurants and quiet conversations with friends - we have to remember that we'll get all that back once again, and to enjoy this kid phase as much as we can now. We also decided we need to watch out for each other more: If one of us is having a particularly shitty time, then the other one should send him or her away. A grumpy parent takes longer to recover than a toddler or preschooler's meltdown.

Then, as if to illustrate our thoughts, into the restaurant walked Josh's and Jami's parents. They had been visiting with Josh and Jami, then left for a nice dinner out. A Saturday night like that for them, we figured, is more common than not. Their phases of needy children keeping them home have long passed, and it gave us the inspiration to know that this stage will pass. We will get Kevin and Denise, social creatures that we once were, back.

We're going to pick the kids up at Grandma Sheila and Grandpa Steve's house in a few minutes. I've missed them, and look forward to their cuddles and stories. And for at least 15 minutes, it will be pure joy.... until someone cries or whines. But that too shall pass.