They say that mums and dads need to get out on a regular
basis to keep the “spark” alive.
Let me tell you what this led to last Friday night.
Nana is in town visiting. This is obviously a free-pass for a night out. While we had planned on a movie, there
was absolutely nothing playing, so we opted for some grown-up fun in the
city. I’m thinking, drinks and
dessert at a nice restaurant, followed by a wander round the casino.
What to wear.
For Nathan, its easy. He
picks 1 of the 2 pairs of jeans he knows I will approve of, plus 1 of the only 2 shirts acceptable for the occasion. For me, you would think it would be a
bit more complicated. It
isn’t. I take off my sweats that I
was cooking dinner and doing Jacks “nighttime routine” in, and put back on the
clothes I was wearing earlier in the day.
Going through the closet to pick something fresh and glitzy is out of
the question as I feel I might need toothpicks to prop my eyes open, and wonder
what on earth is going to make me come alive once we get into the city. So with some black tights and a
semi-long patterned tight dress/shirt thing, I thought I looked fine to head
out. Oh.. shoes…. Can I just wear
my flip flops? No… we’re going to
the casino. Has to be nice
shoes. Damn Brisbane and its high
standard of dress code. I pick a
plain black lifted wedge that look like they belong to an old lady, but no one’s
going to be checking me out given the sweater I am wearing over my whole outfit
which can be described as nothing other than frumpy. I don’t care. It’s cold outside. Plus I’m having a good hair day. That trumps my average outfit choice.
We’re driving to the city. I rest my eyes and try to relax, knowing that Jack is asleep
and in good hands with my mum. I
consider turning my phone off, which may stop me checking it for messages or
missed calls every 3.5 minutes.
Who am I kidding….
After spending ten minutes going in circles, we find a car
park and head up to street level, stepping out into the bustling Queen Street
Mall. So busy!! What are all these people doing
out?? Do they all have their
mothers visiting as well, staying at home babysitting the sleeping
children??! Whats that? Life before children? I can’t recall such a time…. I miss
Jack….
Nathan and I decide we are not hungry yet so we head
for the casino, but not before ducking into some shops to gawk at the price of
crocs, buy souvenirs for my dad,
and hunt out a pharmacy to take action on blister management – as I’m
already starting to hobble in these effin shoes. $10 for a box of band aids?! Are you kidding me! These better last me a string of “going
out” nights for years to come.
We get to the casino.
I head to the bar and order a martini, my only drink of choice these
days. There is an amazingly
attractive blonde standing next to me.
Her legs are long and golden, her hair thick and shiny, her teeth white
and glowing. She is wearing a
short skirt and a low cut top, revealing a rack I very much envied – I won’t
lie. There was a guy chatting her
up, and she stood there looking bored and unimpressed that he would have the
gall to approach her… and I just couldn’t help but think, “why else would you
dress like that, if not to get hit on?
Hell, I am about to hit on you.
Come to the bar looking like me and you simply will not have this
problem ma’am, I swear”. Gone are
my days of getting hit on at the bar, or spending hours to get ready for a big
night out, or splurging on a new cute outfit to go dancing in! Gone are the days of my youth!! Why did we do that, anyways? Was it the
thrill of meeting someone new??
The footloose, fancy-free feeling of being out with the girls?? The exhilliration of being “where its
at” with the “in crowd”? Listen to
me, what an old nanna.
As I sit by Nathan at the pokies, sipping my drink, wanting
only to be his lady in waiting and not have to think about a lot, I know the
gears are fiercely turning in his head as he tries to determine the inner
workings of these money-eating machines.
We people-watch together, trying to guess the story of one person or
another, especially the no-less-than-90 year old woman with a zimmer frame who
is in the basement of the casino determinedly making her way to a slot machine. She is asian, which isn’t that much of
a surprise – I’m not sure why but there is an extraordinarily high percentage
of asian people within the casino.
I don’t know, maybe this is a reflection on the percentage of Asians
among the general population of Brisbane?
Surely not.
The night goes on. Nathan wins a bit of money. I get bored and start to play the machines too, and then get
bored of that and give my winnings to Nathan and meander back to the bar for
Martini #3.. or was it 4? Anyhow
it was enough to make me want to start having small talk with strangers – which
is what my dad does, to which I roll my eyes and accuse him of being old and
weird.
I get Nathan another beer – the wrong type, I realize when I
get back to him – doh!! If only
women didn’t have such small brains.
Nevermind.
We leave the casino eventually, with more money than what we
went in with, I will proudly add.
That’s my man!! I knew he
would beat the system. Even if it
was only $50 or so….. Anyways my
ambitions of a sophisticated cheese platter or decadent dessert accompanied by
a liquered coffee have now faded to a hankering for 3 or 4 cheeseburgers from
McDonalds. We backtrack through
Queen Street Mall, shoes in my handbag by now – thankfully, and I am reveling
in my merry state of bliss as I sit with my favourite person, doing the most
simple thing in the world, loving him as much and for all the same reasons as I
did way back when.
And as we travel back into the suburbia that is home, I
think, yes – I love him for all those reasons I did in the first place – but
there is more now. There’s the
fact that he’s Jacks Daddy – and I think I love that more than anything. And I don’t need to go out once a week
and spend lots of money and get dolled up and be away from our happy little
home in order to keep that love buzzing.
I love him THIS much each night when he walks in the door. When we wake up in the morning. When he walks out of Jacks room after
giving him a bottle and putting him to bed. I don’t believe an adults night out is a necessary way of
keeping the romance……… however given the level of amusement (and unexpected
wealth!) it brought about, I wouldn’t rule out doing it again…..
;)
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