Welcome to my version of “In Home Date Night.” The “Friday Night Dinner” as my husband and I have affectionately come to call it, actually started way before Isabelle was born. We both work full time jobs, and share the cooking responsibilities. Don’t get too excited, when I say share, I mean I cook, and when it’s warm out, he would grill!
Even before Isabelle was born we filled our time (or so we thought) with hobbies and activities, so even though we had dinner together most nights, it might be an eat and run situation, because either I had a get together or was going to work out, or he went to play basketball with the guys. When Friday night came along it seemed like we rushed through the week so much that we didn’t really have a “conversation” about anything. Sound familiar? So Friday night would come, and we may not have had anything planned to do and we started ordering pizza a lot, because neither of us felt like cooking and we didn’t want to eat “regular week night food – its Friday” I know it sounds terrible, but it’s true! Well as we all know, pizza, though it is quite yummy, is not always keen on the figure.
Well, we decided to change our focus for Friday nights. Instead of the take out Pizza, we decided Friday night was our night to “re-connect.” We will most always have some sort of grilled meal, and my husband would do most of the preparation. It’s nothing elaborate, maybe salmon or steak on the grill with baked potatoes (sweet potato for me), and some veggies. This gave me a chance to unwind a little from the week, and sort of relax. I would open a bottle of wine and he might have a few beers. But the best part was sharing a relaxing meal and great conversation. Neither of us had to rush off to anywhere in particular, and we could just enjoy each other’s company over an awesome meal. By the way everything tastes better on the grill!
As you know, when you have a child, adult time is a hot commodity and it’s very important to share time with your partner connecting and sharing, so that your can re-charge (so to speak) to be the best parent you can be. So naturally when Isabelle came along “Friday Night Dinners” became even more valuable to me. We continue to have our “Friday Night Dinner” now, but we eat a little later – after Isabelle has gone to bed, so that we still have the chance to converse in normal adult language without interruptions, and constant encouragement for her to take a bite of this or that!
After dinner, sometimes, we may sit by our outdoor Fire –pit and chat and maybe roast Marshmallows for S’Mores. If it’s cold out, we may watch a movie inside or just sit by the Fireplace and talk . . . even if the talk is all about Isabelle, it is still him and I connecting! I am always amazed at how good it makes me feel to have one – on – one time with just him. I really look forward to it.
~Kristin
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