The original plan was to spend the night at a nice bed & breakfast in downtown Sacramento while our neighbor friends watched our darling son. It was to be one last, much needed, romantic getaway before baby numero duo came.
Well that plan changed with the upcoming house purchase (paying mortgages on two homes at once leaves us beyond flat broke). So, we decided to go out to dinner instead and the same friends were going to sit for Lucas, bless them. And then our sweet son came down with a virus and foiled our date yet again. But we would not be deterred, oh no. “We'll just take him with us” was our brilliant solution. In retrospect, that turned out not to be such a good idea.
Mike and I couldn't even talk to or enjoy each other. We were both running interference the whole time, trying to keep our son under control. First, the angel took the strawberries that I brought for him and smashed them onto the white table linens, staining them. Then we noticed that our talkative boy has not yet learned how to use an inside (quiet/socially acceptable) voice. There had been no real need up until this point. For the bulk of our fine dining experience, Lucas, the charmer, repeatedly proclaimed his apparently new favorite word, “Mmmmmmine!” How bratty does that sound? We were mortified. Michael took him outside to reprimand him twice, which had little to no effect. When our toddler started up again, Mike asked him in a stern voice “Do you want me to take you outside again?” Lucas, who loves to go outside, just nodded vigorously, smiling. Damn, this wasn't working. We wolfed down our meal in frustrated silence between the frequent drone of Lucas' “MMMMMINE.” I think that he enjoyed our reaction to him, our desperation to silence him.
You know you are parents when an early “Check please!” is used not to sneak off and go make out, but to get the hell out of there before your freakin' kid can embarrass and humiliate you any further.
And here is the real kick in the pants...as we were preparing to leave, a woman came up and told me in all seriousness that our child was really well-behaved. I wonder what a poorly behaved child looks like to her?
We've become those parents that I hated pre-kids. The ones that take their whining, loud-mouthed kids out and spoil the romantic ambiance of the restaurant. I have more understanding of that now, though. Parents of annoying kids have to get out, too. We'll just try harder to have a sitter (sick or not) next time. Or stick to the less fancy food venues, like Taco Bell.
The honeymoon is definitely over!
At right: Anxious to Bolt--the dark lighting matched our moods, our smiles feigned
1 comment:
That first sentence sounds somewhat sarcastic. While the honeymoon may be over, I think it is still wedded bliss. I would say that we're just in this newer stage of parenthood bliss also.
Also, in Lucas' defense, the main reason it was so frustrating is that it was a nicer, and therefore quieter (think library) restaraunt. If it had been The Olive Garden or any other semi-normal and somewhat noisy eating establishment, then it really would not have been a problem at all. Except for the fact that eating dinner with children is not romantic WHATSOEVER!
-the husband
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