Anna and Tara spent the night at M. and K.’s house, so Jennifer and I had the first at-home date night in a very long time. By the time we were ready to go, I was really in no mood to go out for dinner; I had a very long and lousy day at work which left me without time to eat breakfast or lunch. After some deliberation, we stopped at the KFC drive-thru. We very rarely eat fast food, so this was something out of the ordinary for us. Sitting at our kitchen table, ignoring the toy-strewn disaster around us, it was wonderful to sit and talk not as parents, but as people. Without a menu to peruse or noisy patrons to ignore, we actually had the freedom to pay attention to each other for what seems like the first time in forever.

To top it off, we each got at least eight hours of uninterrupted sleep; an event so rare and precious in our circles as to inspire awe and jealousy among our friends.

For the last couple years, since our child-free Western Carribean cruise, we have been seeking to reproduce “the cruise effect”–the liberated feeling that comes with putting our responsibilites aside for a time. We know it’s within our grasp for short periods of time, but it’s so hard to let go of all the unresolved issues and logistical juggling that make up the bulk of our daily interaction. Our $12 date surpassed any $150 meal I’ve ever had.

The challenge now is to do it again. and again…