Date Night

It's date night! I got my husband tickets to Phantom of the Opera, his favorite musical and tonights the night. I am wearing off white slacks with a sleeveless black faux wrap top. Date night is a big deal in our house and requires much primping. I won't have time to get an actual pedicure, but I will have to touch up my own little toes. I'm not sure what to do with my hair. It's summer and my curls tend to go quite wild. I'll try to pin it up in a carefree, flirty style, instead of my usual sloppy ponytail. I plan on wearing sandals which will limit my ability to walk very far. I may even carry a beaded bag. Of course the house needs to be cleaned for the babysitter. She's a wonderful young woman, but she is very chatty and I know she'll reveal my shoddy housekeeping to her mom. I'd like to put up a good front.

The first show my husband and I saw together was Show Boat. We saw it in New York in 1995. I couldn't tell you what theatre and I couldn't tell you who was in it. The music was excellent, but the company was better. We had only been seeing each other seriously for 2 months and he had to go to NY on business. He invited me along and even bought my ticket. I have never been very adventurous so the prospect of flying to NY on my own was a little intimidating. I was nervous about going to the wrong hotel. I was nervous about going to the wrong room. I was a mess. Of course, I made it to NY and the hotel without any issues and managed to make several more trips to NY and other places. I even took our older son with me to NY once when he was 3. We went on the train. He was enchanted by all the lights in Time Square and loved FAO Schwartz. He loved the hotel and made himself a fort between the bed and the wall. He got to watch forbidden television and eat room service. The train was not so enchanting. He had a major fit on the way home. The kind of fit that leaves you near tears. We haven't taken kids with us since. We'll have to work on that.

Our Fourth of July barbecue (family only) was almost rained out. But we are fearless, serious cookers. With the rain coming down and rumbles of thunder, we managed to get our food cooked to perfection. The marinated skewers of chicken and beef were amazing. We also had some grilled squash, tomato, onion and red pepper which we drizzled in olive oil and then sprinked with salt and pepper. We may have to have a repeat performance next week when my sister and brother are in town.

Off to swim practice. It's a dreary, humid morning. It's supposed to rain off and on all day and then we're supposed to have scattered thunder storms tonight. But I'll still be sitting in the Kennedy Center with my honey, reliving the early days of our love. :)