DH turned the big three-o today. Right after midnight he started feeling achy and “weird” I told him it was because he was OLD now. LOL. (Don’t lynch me, I’m not serious!) He felt weird because we were up late doing laundry and cleaning up the little one’s toys. I FINALLY ordered some toy organizers and my new best-friend, the UPS man, brought them to me at supper time last night. After the kiddos went to bed we slapped those suckers together and I got going sorting, purging, and putting away little dress up shoes, costumes, ten-million stuffed animals and dolls, Mrs. potato heads, and 3 different types of blocks. DH helped rescue toys from the recesses of the house and kept me company. All this happened while the kiddos slept soundly in their beds 4 ft away. Well, Kitty-cat did wake up once. She gave me this look that said, “See, I KNEW you played with my toys after I went to sleep.” Then she rolled over and kept snoring. J
So, his birthday rolled around (far too quickly) and we were all aglow with excitement. Today was the day!! We were going on a date! Meemaw and PopPop were coming to hang with the babies and we were going out…alone…only us…with no little ones in tow. WOW! Our last date was just about two years ago. I was 9 months pregnant and had been in prolonged prodromal labor for over a month. You can imagine how exciting it was. J So today we went to a restaurant that had NO playground and that served your food on plates (no paper sack in sight!) and we looked at one another, smiling, and realized we had no idea what to say! DH did not want to talk about work, and switching to cloth diapers and the latest progress (or lack thereof) in potty training makes poor dinner conversation. We ordered our amazing burgers and sat wondering what to say. We got over the lull and had a great time, but it made me realize that couple communication requires a lot of effort during this busy season of our lives. When two little ones are vying for attention at the dinner table and there are a million things to do to keep our home running, we can simply forget to connect as individuals. DH sometimes works 70 hrs. a week, and I often spend my days elbow-deep in poo (figuratively of course, not literally. Eww! See the next blog entry about my switch to cloth diapering and the adventures in potty training a strong-willed 3 year-old.) so, sometimes talking about our day can lead to less-than-stellar conversation. Not exactly a good segue into an evening of romance and intimacy. LOL. But after today’s birthday, break, and burgers we have realized that we need to make an effort to bring some more of our inner-selves to the table so that we can connect better. We’re going to start reading a book together and then discussing it…kind of like a book club only there is just two people and it meets in our bed. Now that is a good segue into romance! We’re also going to work on sanding and painting a dresser for our girls. A project is a great way to connect as long as you can work together on a home improvement project without wanting to kill one another. ;) A shared experience holds nearly endless fodder for conversation. Finally, we are going to rediscover some of the things we enjoyed in the past that contribute to who we are as people. I am a very quiet and reflective soul and I tend to enjoy putting my thoughts on paper. One way I used to do that was by writing poetry, and it was something DH liked to read and discuss with me. I’ll be revisiting that pastime when I can steal a minute. Here’s a quick one for you;
Hmmm, nope. I must be rusty; it’s a good thing I am going to work on it! J
