Recharge

Last Friday night, Sean and I had an awesome Mega-Date. I booked a great hotel on Michigan Avenue for $115, made a reservation for dinner, bought Daniel Tosh tickets at the Chicago Theater, and bought two 90 minute “couples” hot stone massages for $55 each. The night went off without a hitch. We got to recharge in a very healthy way. We arrived at the hotel after a really delicious dinner, and I asked the guy at the desk “Do you think you could give us a room with windows? This is our first ever night away from the kids together”. I saw Sean grit his teeth at me and my sharing problem, but he was more than happy to enjoy the corner room suite upgrade we got as a result of me asking. Our view was a lovely one of the Magnificent Mile:

We went up to the room, and relaxed for a little while, and then an hour before the show, we took a scenic walk down Michigan Avenue and walked along the River (which prompted our usual "this-is-the-most-gorgeous-city-on-earth-and-we-wouldn't-want-to-live-anywhere-else" talk). Definitely romantic, and definitely needed.
We arrived at the show and found our seats, and got to admire the intricate and beautiful interior of the theater, grab a beer, and have a seat. We proceeded to laugh until we cried for Tosh’s entire set. He is the epitome of mean humor, but I love anyone that will go there, with anyone. No person or topic is off limits.
The show ended at 1 am (we are usually fast asleep by then) and we walked back to the room and crashed. The next morning we woke leisurely, walked out and got coffee, and chilled a little before heading off to our massage. It was Sean’s first (but definitely not last) professional massage, and it was great! It was in a couple’s room, all dim and zen and awesome smelling, and MY GOD I love hot stone massages! But I do know I will never pay the usual full price-$220 for a 90 minute one.

It is so easy to lose sight of your significant other when you have children. Especially if you have children and an 18 year old niece living with you in a 1600 sq ft condo. It’s hard to make the time for a drink out, or walks, or holding hands. It’s hard to do romantic dinners out. It’s hard to rationalize spending money on things that demand that. We ebb and flow with our staying on the wagon with a date night every week, but lately we have been bad about not getting out, even though we have said niece to help. We both know how vital it is to keep that alive, but it seems like most free time is kid time...

All that said, it is refreshing and awesome to remember that we really do have things in common, and that we love eachother, deeply. In spite of the sleep issues, and illnesses, and limit testing, and busy-ness. We love eachother. And we were away long enough to MISS our girls, so much. So we are reminded of how incredibly blessed we are to have been entrusted with them, and to have a strong partner to raise them with and build a life around.