Friday Nights of Yesteryear

Tonight, after we fed Adeline dinner, Adam and I were laying flat on our backs on the floor of our family room as she climbed all over us and played between us. And here is where the story turns from idyllic to just sad: We began to discuss with one another what we would order for dinner if we could go out to eat at one of our favorite restaurants. You know, the one we used to visit a lot before we had a child. And at our imaginary dinner, we didn't just settle for the main course, we had appetizers, and soup, and salad, and an entree, and then two desserts. We were (hypothetically of course) planning a binge fest.

And then our toddler most likely dropped a Fisher Price mailbox on one of our heads and that brought us both back to reality. And it got me thinking about our Friday nights of yesteryear. Don't get me wrong, Adam and I weren't exactly the bar-hopping type, but our weekends involved a little more excitement than Mega Blocks and Little People. The average Friday night spent together probably went something like this...

5:30 p.m. - I arrive home from work and either crash in front of the tube or fall into bed for a little nap. I'm not ashamed of the nap part...I love a good nap.

6:45 p.m. - Adam has been home for 45 minutes, and the snack he scrounged up has done nothing to hold him over. He comes upstairs, wakes me up, and this conversation inevitably ensues:

Adam: Where do you want to go for dinner? I'm starving.
Rachel: I don't know. What are you hungry for?
Adam: Why don't you just tell me where you had in mind?
Rachel: Why do I always have to make this decision?
Adam: How about I name three places and you pick one?
Rachel: Okay...
Adam: {names 3 places}
Rachel: I don't want to eat at any of those places.

7:30 p.m. - We leave the house and head in the general direction of several restaurants and usually end up at one we have eaten at 15 times already.

9:00 p.m. - We have finished dinner and either head home to watch mindless TV or maybe crash at Barnes & Noble for a while.

Wow...what a rough life we led. The funny thing is, before having a child, these Friday nights would play out and I can't even begin to tell you how many times I would sit across from my husband in a restaurant, eyes glued to a family with young kids, all the while wishing our Friday nights looked a little more like someone else's. And sometimes I would sit there feeling bored, wishing we were doing something more exciting.

And now, well now my perspective is different. I have what I wished for, and it's not that this isn't enough. It isn't that our new norm is bad, because ultimately I wouldn't trade it for anything, but it is different. And sometimes it is fun to order an imaginary dinner with your husband.

So for those of you out there who are or have been in our shoes, how do you keep Friday nights at home interesting and something to look forward to? {In the cleanest sense of the word}