Staying In or Going Out: A Love Story of Both

What a weekend.

We are homebodies through and through. We love nothing more than to stay in on a Friday night (and Saturday, and Sunday, and, and…) and make dinner, watch a family movie with a big bowl of popcorn, and just soak up the feeling of “home”. If I really think hard about it, almost nowhere is more deserving of our time than the couch in our living room. It calls to us every night. It misses us when we’re not there. It needs us as much as we need it. I think that’s called true love.

Which is why this weekend was so out of the ordinary for us. We went out not once, but twice (!). And by “out”, I mean we drove half a mile down the road and spent the evening with my mom at her cottage.

My mom’s oldest friend (they went to kindergarten together) is in town and staying with her for a while. They invited us over on Friday night because Pam wanted to make dinner for all of us. How sweet is that? A night where we don’t have to cook and somebody actually cooks for us? Signed, sealed, delivered.

So we got dressed up and brought a few bottles of wine over to my mom’s house for a fun night of playing card games, telling stories, catching up, and eating a delicious creamy chicken and broccoli cheese bake. I should have snagged the recipe from her but I forgot to ask. 

It was such a lovely, chill night.

It was the kind of night that reminded me why I don’t think we could ever not be near family. People ask us all the time why we live in this little town, the same one we both grew up in, and while there are many reasons, a big one is that both of our moms are here (each half a mile from us, in fact) and the thought of not being able to pop over and see them anytime we’d like is does not sound appealing to us. In the current stage of our lives, it almost feels like we need them nearby, you know?

Speaking of family, Saturday night was spent basically doing the same thing, just with PJ’s side of the family. His cousin Lauren invited us all over for a night of equal amounts of fun for both parents and adults: our kids would spend the evening playing with her two girls (whom our children adore), and we would get to spend it with PJ’s cousins and their husbands, and the rest of their family. 

The great thing about Saturday night is there was such a sense of nostalgia about it, and who am I if not perpetually nostalgic? When PJ and I first got together, his cousin would have many, many get togethers at her house and we would go to every single one of them. There were so many parties where we’d all be in her (rather large) kitchen scattered around the island, holding a glass of whatever, and just being young and carefree.

This was, of course, before any of us had kids or any serious responsibilities. And it was always the same people at these get togethers, which made them all quickly feel like family to me.

This weekend felt like old times, but maybe even 10 times better because our kids would run into the kitchen from time to time out of breath and laughing from playing so hard with each other. PJ and Lauren are cousins and were in the same grade all throughout school; he and his sister, and Lauren and her sister, all grew up together, spending their summer days at their mamaw’s house (which is now Lauren’s house) running around outside, getting dirty, helping her with certain projects, etc. It was a magical childhood and they spent it together, the same way I hope our own kids will spend theirs and, hopefully, have the same sweet memories as PJ does now.

This weekend reminded me of the perks of living in a small town with family close by, and the comfort and security that brings. I know staying home is always a good idea, but spending a few nights with the people we love most might just be even better.