 Date Night! Posted by Susan Sey Jun 2 2012, 12:07 am
Like, this Friday. I can’t quite believe this slipped my mind. I mean, Mr. Sey and I have the occasional date night but do you people have any idea what a sitter costs these days? Suffice it to say, it’s a lot. So much, in fact, that rather than the more traditional “movie and dinner” date, we often opt for what we call “Movie Dinner.” This is when still go to the movies, but we eat popcorn for dinner. In addition to cutting our date night costs way down, it also knocks a good hour or two off our babysitting bill.
(Note that our priorities are firmly in order: Good food vs. good story? Good story, no question. And the fact that this isn’t even a point of contention between us is probably the reason we’re so happily married.) So how I managed to forget that we were getting a date night minus the babysitter is beyond me, but there you have it. I was suddenly in the enviable position of having twice the usual budget for a date night, & absolutely no need to be home by midnight.
We did not. We went out for pizza & beer. To be fair, it was designer pizza & craft beer. And in the city, too! Then we went to Lee’s Liquor Lounge–(Why, yes, taxidermy does feature prominently in the decor. However did you know?)–where we danced to those local kings of rockabilly swing, Trailer Trash. (This, by the way, is an almost exact replica of our very first date. We try to tell the story to our children without using any proper nouns.)
And we were not home by midnight. It was lovely. So how about you? If you had an unexpected night off with your sweetie–and twice the usual budget for such things–what would you do? TweetPosted in Susan Sey Comments57 thoughts on “Date Night!” |
  
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Knowing my husband he would tell me to go to town and get us something to eat because he is going to set and watch the history channel or Science channel all evening.
Virginia, congrats on the rooster!
Hey, Virginia, you nabbed the rooster! If your hubbie wants to watch TV, I *know* the Golden Rooster will take you dancing.
Watch out, though. He’s a rascal.
Hahaha! Hubby would be surprised if VIrginia took that wily chook up on the dancing, now wouldn’t he? Grins.
You never know though, Susan, he might rather do pocorn and a movie. He does like to snuggle up with the lovely ladies….watch out Virginia!
Susan, I remember those days! We had to want VERY much to see a particular movie before we’d invest in a babysitter, pizza for sitter and boy, dinner for us, and, oh, yes, evening ticket price.
Your impromptu date sounds fun.
We had such a good time, Nancy, thanks! And I’ll admit, I do like to fantasize about the day our kids don’t require sitting–or can sit themselves–or just want to see the same movies we do. Not that I’d ever wish their childhood away but it’s something my husband & I love so much. It would be fun to share it with them.
Or at least indulge more often ourselves.
Even after they start going with you, there are changes still in store. I felt like the world underwent a seismic shift when the boy and I walked out if Terminator Salvation and he started in on a character and plot analysis of the film.
We agreed on disliking the ending as sappy and lame and feeling that the Terminator, beautifully played by Sam Worthington, was the most complex, interesting character. And that the film failed to exploit his internal conflict at a key moment.
This was new parent-child territory, as he had previously been interested mostly in the action and in whether the good guys won.
I had a similar moment of pleasant shock over dinner one night when he started in on The Great Gatsby, which he was reading for a class, and what a lame character Nick, the narrator, is. I taught Gatsby in my 1920s class, not as literature but as social commentary. I think Nick exists mainly to give the story a frame. He really isn’t much of a character in the sense we think of them.
So there are still surprises ahead at the Sey house after they start going to movies with you!
Wow, that sounds fantastic! Again, not to wish away their childhood–my youngest still says ‘aminal’ instead of ‘animal’ & I know that can’t last much longer–but I’m really looking forward to that. (Oh, & I dislike almost every character in the Great Gatsby.)
How fun, Susan!! It isn’t often that we get an evening sans children
I can’t recall our last impromptu date night, but we did provide a date night opportunity for some friends earlier in the year when we hosted a sleepover at our house 
We included sibs of the guests (who happily were friends of our kids) and a great time was had by all 
Glad you enjoyed the pizza and beer–that sounds quite delightful!
Hey, Fedora!
Bless you for providing a date night for others! We’re paying our debt to the universe later this month when we’re doing the hosting. And that’s a whole different kind of fun, isn’t it? I do like hosting sleepovers. The kids are so funny & so excited about sleeping in the basement. It makes me wonder if I shouldn’t put them down there more often….
WTG Fedora! That sounds like a romp of a good time. Kudos to you too, Susan! I’ve had the “pile ‘o boys” at my house too, but can only manage it when the DH will be home too, to help ride herd. Grins. I have a deep and abiding respect for single moms who manage to do all this sort of thing w/o the second parent to back them up. Whew!!
We would go to a Yankees or NY Rangers game and then have dinner at Peter Luger.
Oh, that sounds fun, Jane! I’ve never been to a major league ball game, but I’m hoping to catch one this summer when I take the girls to see my sister in Chicago. Tell me about Peter Lugers, though. That’s a new one on me…
Jane, I want to hear about Peter Luger too.
Susan, are you seeing Cubs or White Sox?? Grins.
Susan and Jeanne,
Peter Luger is a famous steakhouse in Brooklyn. I love Chicago. It’s such a fun city.
Jane, I went to an Atlanta Braves game once, back when the Braves were the perpetual basement of The National League. This was during the Atlanta Fantasy Fair, precursor to DragonCon, and my late friend Chris guided a bunch of us to the ballpark (which I think was then, maybe Atlanta-Fulton County field. Now it’s Turner Field, but I think the classy thing to do would’ve been to name it after “Hammerin’ Hank” Aaron, who was wearing a Braves uniform when he broke Babe Ruth’s HR record–without taking steroids. There is a Hank Aaron field in Montgomery, AL, but I digress). The game was fun, although the Braves, of course, lost. I was surprised at how much slower it seems without commercial breaks while new pitchers warm up.
I haven’t been to the new Yankees stadium yet. They jacked up a lot of the prices for the seats. My cousin went to see a tennis match at the US Open a couple of years ago and I would love to go to see Nadal or Federer play.
Oh, what fun, Susan! And I laughed that you chose pizza and beer. At least you wouldn’t have gone home hungry!
Good morning, Anna! Yeah, we’re not what you’d call high class individuals. Pizza & beer is pizza & beer, no matter how you fancy it up. We enjoyed it hugely.
Pizza and beer is a classic combo for a reason.
Yum. :> (Just sayin’!)
Being a single woman and not currently having a man in my life, I do occasionally find myself with a night or two where there’s absolutely zip on the television, the washing up is done before 7pm and I’m done eating dinner at that time too.
So, what I do is find myself three movies with my favourite movie star in it, boot up my surround sound system and make some Sweet Popcorn and hunker down for a good night of rom coms or action thrillers or – of course my favourites – Christian Slater and Hugh Jackman….. *drooooool!*
Usually the movies are done by around 11pm is I get them started early enough… and then I’m off to bed after I’ve washed up the bowls and saucepans… and made myself some warm milk to help me sleep.
Oh, Mozette, that sounds absolutely divine. I do have a man in my life, but that happily ever after came with a side-dish of kids, so there’s such a shortage of time/space to indulge my movie addiction. A whole evening to watching movies, plus popcorn I don’t have to share? It sounds like heaven on earth. Sigh.
Mozette, how fun! My favorite Christian Slater movie is Broken Arrow, a thriller with John Travolta as the villain and Samantha Mathis as a daring, determined park ranger. Have you seen it?
That’s a good one, Nancy! I like Christian Slater in a lot of things – Pump up the Volume, Robin Hood (he was Will Scarlett), The Name of the Rose – he’s just a good actor. And wow, can he be chilling as the bad guy!!
Pump up the Volume! Yes! Wasn’t that Samatha Mathis, too?
Yes that was her in both ‘Broken Arrow’ and ‘Pump Up the Volume’… but it wasn’t until ‘Broken Arrow’ that he actually had an affair with her… strange that, seeing it was in ‘Pump Up the Volume’ that they were half-naked with with each other.
Actually, in Name of the Rose, that wasn’t a stunt bum that he used in the scene where he got it on in the scullery with the homeless woman… that was him doing his first nude scene at the tender age of 15!
And what a hot bum that was!
I didn’t see Pump Up the Volume or The Name of the Rose, alas. Mathis’s park ranger in Broken Arrow is one of my favorite movie characters.
Order drinks! They are always so expensive that we forego them and have water instead. Its small but a luxury i dont normaly get
Wonderful advice, Jacinta! And you’re totally right. We usually do order water to help contain date night costs. We figure there’s beer in the fridge when we get home if we want a drink. Why pay $6 a bottle now? But on sitter-free date night? Yes! Have a pink drink!
Jacinta, when the boy was small, the dh and I had the chance to go out for drinks. We were sitting in the bar and realized it’d been so long since we had anything other than beer, we couldn’t remember the names what we used to order!
I started trying to describe the drink and ended up with Irish coffee, totally the wrong thing when what you want is a Brandy Alexander!
Hi Susan
We have never paid for baby sitters as when my children were that age (many moons ago) the neighbours all had children similar age so we baby sat for each other …. we used to go off to the local pub as that was the social centre in the village (back in the UK)
Oh how I wish we lived in that sort of neighborhood, Barb! Sadly, we landed in an older neighborhood populated by retirees who are deeply devoted to maintaining their perfect lawns. Needless to say, we–with our knee-high dandelion patch & the balls & bikes all over–aren’t the most popular family on the block. The school district is fantastic though, so we aren’t moving. But we do pay for babysitters.
Susan
We were always lucky enough never to have to pay for sitters either we had family and friends close by to help. These days I do a lot of bay stiing for my kids so they can go out in fact I have Hayley here tonight so as Joel and Jodie can have a quiet night in watching movies together Jayden has gone to his other grandmothers and I am happy to to help them have some time to themselves.
These days Hubby and I are very happy to stay at home and watch a movie and order pizza in
Enjoy
Have Fun
Helen
Helen, you’re making me wish we lived closer to family. Not that I don’t always wish that, but we’re six hours from Mr. Sey’s family & 12 hours from mine, so we rarely get grandma-care for the kiddos. One of my sisters lives 20 minutes from my mom, though, & her kids think of grandma as practically a second mom. I envy that. Especially as I’m paying the sitter…. Your kids are so lucky to have you close.
Ahhh, Helen! I wish you were my mum or auntie or something and I lived close. Grins. Trust me, your kids SOOOOO appreciate it!
And if they don’t I’ll appreciate it FOR them. Grins.
My surprise date nights involved me sister who would volunteer to take the kids for an Aunt Sami night or weekend. ( this usually entailed camping, fishing or hanging out at her house eating junk food, junk cereal and scary movies)
What would we do… Uhm… Hmmm….
I know, right? It boggles the mind. It shouldn’t be so hard to think of something but I’ll admit I was momentarily stumped. I think that’s why we ended up reverting to form & doing something we knew we’d love. Given more time I probably could’ve come up with something more creative but at the last minute? Pizza & beer with a side dish of dancing. It’s a classic for a reason.
Susan – While I don’t have to worry about babysitters anymore, we still have unexpected date nights. Both adult children are now back at home so if we go out for dinner or a movie most likely one of them will tag along. IT’s a treat if my dh get to go out alone. SO on those unexpected nights – we head someplace to dance. It’s not an easy task to find someplace that still plays rock and roll – but we found a bar (no taxidermy – the cheap paneling walls are mostly decorated by neon beer advertisements) with a decent size dance floor and live music. The food is 100% fried and unhealthy as hell – so we go for a “liquid diet” which is equally unhealthy but lends a buzz.
If dancing isn’t an option, then we’ll do a long leisurely dinner at a good seafood restaurant, but, honestly, we’d rather dance.
Amen, Donna! How did we get lucky enough to snag men who dance? It’s a rare & lovely thing. High five.
Alas! There’s no sweetie to share my nights out, but I do often have the grands–all of whom live within thirty miles of me–for an over-night or a weekend so that their parents have just-for-us time without babysitting costs.
Your kids are SO LUCKY to have you, Janga. And so are you grandkids. I love where we live but one of the few flies in my ointment is how far we live from the grands. We both have two healthy, wonderful parents, & our kids are growing up far from them. It breaks my heart sometimes, but also gives me excellent excuses for long vacations in the states that hatched us.
*applauding* Thank you Janga, and Helen, for being AWESEOME Grands for your grandkids! Grins. Like Susan, I’m jealous. Heehee.
Unlike Susan, our parents are no longer with us – though both my kids used to talk to them in the crib, no joke, when they would “stop by” in spirit! Eeep! Grins. However, you can’t count on that drop in business for date night! Grins.
We do trade off with other parents sometimes, which is cool, but it’s also a few-and-far-between kind of thing.
This was a long time ago but it was our anniversary and a friend of mine gave me the name of her babysitter. I was really excited since we really never went out without the kids. I got my hair done, fed the kids and she never showed up!!!!
Oh, catslady, that’s TERRIBLE! I had a sitter one time who ditched us, & I harbor a grudge to this day. That girl will never work in this town again. Grrrrrr…..
Ohhh Susan, you are SUCH a tease! I dream of this….sigh. As you said, sitter’s cost a fortune, when you can even get one. With no family close by (there are some close by, but not living and breathing), there’s none of this “Gramma can you watch the kids so we can go to a movie?” bit.
I have several friends who have a standing Friday night date-night and grammy and grampa take the kids.
Ohhh, the envy!!
Grins. Not too long ago though, on our anniversary we went to the place we’d gone to for our first date. Big fun. We did, however, spend the evening discussing summer camps and vacation-with-the-kids plans rather than anything erudite and adult. Snork!!
As to what we’d do if the stars aligned and both boys had simultaneous sleepover plans? (May that happen one day!) We’d probably do dinner and a movie and come home and go to bed early. *wink, wink*
Grins.
Okay, my husband suggested this very thing. (wink, wink, etc.) But after twelve years of marriage and nine years of kids, I decided that was a no-go. I was like, “Are you KIDDING me? We are going on a DATE. You are buying me some DAMN DINNER before you get ANY wink, wink, you feel me, mister??” It worked out fine. I got dinner AND wink wink. Win/win as far as I’m concerned.
Yep! That’s DEFINATELY a win-win! :>
We’d probaby go out for pizza and then to see the local independent leage baseball team play. We could use the rest of the money to go out to breakfast in the morning.
Oh, Sandy, I dearly love breakfast out. A bottomless pot of caffeine, the Sunday paper, an out-of-the-way diner….heaven. Sadly, our friend who hosted the sleep over is an early riser, & I had to pick up the kids by 9. So no lazy breakfast for us. We stayed up late instead.
Sounds like a fun date, Susan! Our kids are old enough to stay home alone so there are more opportunities to go out. An evening of pizza, beer, dancing and, of course, taxidermy, sounds just up our alley
Another taxidermy fan! I don’t know why I find this so charming but there’s a mountain lion in the corner, way up high. Sometimes you find yourself standing under him, feeling obscurely threatened. It’s hilarious. Probably not so much for the mountain lion, but still.
Cute post, Susan! I love those “movie dinners” and have been known to sneak entire meals into the theatre. But I have to say my favorite is movie popcorn and Skittles, such a great combo.
I think I’d go for the fancy dinner where the best fillet mignon is to be found! Love me the occasional expensive beef!
Oh, Jo, I’m such a fan of sneaking food into the theatre. I feel like it’s my god given right as a practical human being to amend the $12 popcorn and $6 soda with my own darn chocolate. I have been known to sneak in whole meals as well. PB & J is a favorite. I love the skittles in the popcorn idea, though. I’m totally stealing that one….
Duckling, you are a party animal!
Joanie, trying to imagine you dancing to rockabilly…up NORTH??? :0
I know. Weird, right? Rockabilly swing in the land of the stoic white people? But there you have it. The pallor just makes our tattoos stand out.