Spending time alone with my husband, Chris, is something we don’t manage very well, especially since I’m pregnant with baby number two.  We used to unwind and watch TV or a movie after putting Alyssa to bed, but these days I go to bed when Alyssa goes to bed because I am so tired.  The weekends are our opportunity to spend time with Alyssa since we’re gone so much during the week, so we try to spend as much time with her as humanly possible.  Therefore, we don’t go out on dates, and I’m in bed by 8:30.  However, the other day my husband suggested we go to the Incubus concert at the Hollywood Bowl.  An actual date to a concert?  On a school night?  Alone and without offspring?  I was in!  My husband even managed to arrange childcare without my input - talk about your romantic gestures!  We didn’t have tickets, but we weren’t worried because it wasn’t sold out and Chris is the master of utilizing ebay, Craig’s List and Stub Hub to find tickets. 

 

We spent all day emailing back and forth at work like two high schoolers, or at least a newlywed couple, daydreaming about what we were going to have for dinner and planning for our evening.  I was excited to say the least.  Around 3:00 p.m. the day of the concert, Chris and I started talking logistics about how the two of us would meet up, because parking at the Bowl is a nightmare under the best of circumstances.  I work near the Bowl and he works near our home in Pasadea, so we decided that I’d park there and he would take the shuttle and we’d drive home together.  Everything was falling into place.  Around 5:00 p.m., Chris called and said he had an idea.  He said, “Why don’t we skip the concert and go to dinner and a movie.”  My response, “Fantastic, see you at home.”  I can’t tell you the relief I felt when he made that suggestion.  I realized that going to the concert was not as important as just spending time with my husband, and getting home at a decent hour was more enticing than the concert.  Don’t get me wrong, the concert would have been great, but going to dinner and a movie and still make it home by 10:00 p.m. was my version of the perfect evening.

 

We went and saw Publice Enemies, but had to settle on California Crisp (think of Subway-like restaurant with salads) in order to make the 7:15 movie.  I didn’t care.  I was on a date with my husband and enjoying his company.  It was so nice to sit next to him in a movie theatre, watch a movie that didn’t involve a talking animal and hold his hand.  We made it home by 10:00 and I was in bed and asleep by 10:05, the perfect ending to a great night.