A Night All to Ourselves

The other night, we packed a bag for the kids, drove them two streets over to PJ’s mom’s house, and dropped them off for the night. We were going to be alone all Saturday night with not a child in sight or a care in the world. This is why we stay in our small town, people: Built-in baby sitters just when we need them most. How could we ever move away from that?

Kidding, of course, but it really is so nice to have our moms just a few streets over to watch the kids when we need a break. My mom took them for a few hours the night before, and after the weeks of work preparing for last Friday night, we needed a little down time to restore ourselves.

And that’s just what we did. I poured a glass of wine, popped some popcorn, put a flatbread pizza in the oven, and we plopped down on the couch with mounds of blankets and all the animals to watch a few movies. First was We Have Always Lived in the Castle, which was bizarre and kind of slow and overall pretty forgettable. But then we started Mayfair Witches on AMC+ and it was very good! We made it to episode two before ultimately passing out on the couch together, but it was thrilling and entertaining and I recommend giving it a shot if you haven’t seen it yet.

These nights alone, I’m learning, are so important for us as a couple and as individuals. Everyone needs a break every now and then, and they afford us time to recuperate. I don’t think I realized, on a day to day basis, just how exhausted we both are pretty much all the time between the animals and the kids and houses and just life. Nights like the other night remind me how balance, in just about every aspect of life, is a necessity for a life filled with wholeness. Better said than done of course, but I’ve found it’s best to keep trying to obtain that balance at all costs.

It’s what makes life so enjoyable; all the nights spent together and all the nights we have to ourselves. Balance!