Date Night !!!

Reader, I married him.

... then we had a baby and didn't leave the house, together, as a couple, for more than five months. Saturday night, Pynchon and I went on our first date, post-baby. It's astonishing how much good a simple date with your husband can be, non? Five blissful, adult, romantic, candlelit, skirt-wearing, dinner-eating, movie-going hours of couple time. As we have no family near to us, and no real support network of any kind that might offer child care, and as our Miss Baby is a bit of a, um, nocturnal handful, we've not been able / willing to leave her with anyone until now. My sister made the trip from a neighbouring town, with her 11 year old son as her assistant, and we. left. the. house.

It was amazing. We dressed up like grownups and drove to a fancy restaurant. No one had to sing in the car to appease Miss Baby. We stared deeply into each other's eyes over a lingering meal. There was a roaring fire. There was smooching. We drove to the movies, and held hands through Stranger than Fiction (loved it! As an English prof myself, I can say that Dustin Hoffman's office was bang on--all the poured concrete 60s architecture and sun-faded books--except it was too damn big by half), which we then discussed on a leisurely (and still song-free) ride home. Most miraculously, we managed to not talk about she-who-must-not-be-named until the ride home. It was a wonderful, wonderful evening. I can't believe we went so long without this kind of night: as happy as I am in our new family unit of three, I miss the two that we used to be, and I didn't really realize just how much until I got a little piece of that dynamic back.

As it turns out, we're still very much in love. And we still have things to talk about! And we're capable of flirting with each other!

And Miss Baby? She had a grand time with Favorite Auntie, but nevertheless kicked up the usual bedtime fuss. Despite this, Favorite Auntie, mystifyingly, desires a return engagement as babysitter. Hell yeah!