Girls Night Out

Even in the hardest of times, some days all you really need for a fresh start to the next week is a good old fashioned girls night out. With winter brings colds. And as a disheartening result, play dates and the such are kicked to the curb. To make matters even more trying, the joyful days of park outings are few and far between until the sun can bring the bitter temperatures back up to non-frostbite conditions. During the summer I must admit that I take the constant pleas for park trips for granted. I will look at these days different this summer. But back to my original point. With life on its temporary winter hiatus, we, as mothers (and stay at home dads as well), find the days to be just a tad bit more wearing. Boredom to children is almost as devastating as a nasty virus. It wears on them. Luckily, kids need not fear the ugly wrinkles that come with the stress we feel as adults. As a last ditch effort to escape from the mundane weekend, I loaded the kiddos up to visit Grandma and Grandpa for a few hours. Not only did it give Josh some well needed time apart from us, but it also gave the kids something to do. As I've said before...grandparents are awesome! I took a brief moment to escape to Mandy's house while the kids played with my folks so I could pick something up from her. When she walked out the door to meet me, I saw the same look on her face that I felt on mine. We needed...and I do mean needed...to get away. I suggested a night out to grab something to eat and once more I saw the look in my heart mirrored on her face. The best way to describe the prospect of getting out without kids for a while is like this: It is as if you feel a little ball of light in your heart and as the day dwindles down to the last moments before you leave, that ball of light takes completely over you and you practically run from the house and skid out the driveway laughing all the way. Okay, so perhaps that's a bit much. But just a bit really. We ended up going to watch Harry Potter for our second time (just as good on round two) and then grabbing a nice bite to eat afterward. Our hubbys got the joy-joy evening of putting the kids to bed. Thanks to the husbands for such a wonderful gift, by the way. I can't speak for Mandy, but I know that for me it was a great night out. I sometimes believe that those little nights out are what fuels us to do our best as parents through the next months of crazy kids. I love my kids and husband more than I ever thought possible. But sometimes, no matter how much you love spending time with them...you just need a girls night out.