A Revitalizing Birthday Night Out

I just came home from spending many hours with one of the greatest women I know, after stuffing ourselves with the most scrumptious spaghetti and meatballs.  We went out to dinner...alone.  What a rare treat for us.  We were two adult women, dressed up in public without the seven children we have between us, yet we ordered spaghetti.  Then we had ice cream for dessert.  Spaghetti and ice cream...something so ordinary that we could have it at home any night of the week, yet on this night, it was extraordinary.

This night was extraordinary because we were out together to celebrate my birthday.  I really am not that into my own birthday, but when it means I can spend time with one of my best friends, I'm happy to make it a little bigger deal.  We are busy moms with hectic schedules, and so we made this date together almost a month ago.  Have you ever had a date with a friend that you looked forward to as much as you anticipate a night out with your lovie?  We were excited about this night that much!  We were texting and emailing each other about it in anticipation every week.

"Can't wait till our night out!  We have so much to talk about.  It's gonna be awesome!"   

Yesterday, she called me to find out what I was wearing.  She even jokingly suggested we should bring a typed agenda so we would remember everything we needed to share with each other.  It had been way too long since we had a nice, long visit.

You see, Elizabeth and I used to see each other almost every day, but schedules have changed, and it hasn't been that way for about a year.  Now we catch up quickly, email often, and then we plan these dates when we can.  Sometimes, she meets me for a long lunch, but we never really have the uninterrupted time we want to nourish this friendship that magically exists between us.

This night was extraordinary because we both have had a summer filled with unexpected hurdles and glories, travel, work, events, and, of course, kids.  We finally could talk about all of these together.  There are just certain feelings and emotions we are not able to express through our emails and texts.  We needed to be sitting across from each other, in person, so we could see the joy and pain we've been experiencing in this nutty life we lead as moms with many children. 

When I'm with my dear friend, Elizabeth, we laugh. I mean, we really laugh.  We are loud. We talk with our hands.  We are excitable!  It is just So Much Fun.  We were probably driving the people around us crazy with our laughter, but we didn't even care.  On this night, we also shared with each other more sensitive stories.  Have you ever had that feeling when you see someone you care about being tearful, and then in response you become tearful?  It happened to us.  Both of us.  We were free from our responsibilities of mother, wife, and caretaker.  Nobody needed us for those few hours last night, so when we were free to express our own feelings in that peaceful room, the emotions just came.

This night was extraordinary because we were sitting in a beautiful restaurant with incredible gourmet food that somebody else prepared and served for us!  Our server was like a snake charmer, luring us in with his description of the homemade Amaretto and locally grown cherry ice cream.  We couldn't decide between two desserts, so like an old married couple, we shared them both.  First we devoured the ice cream, piled high into a gigantic martini glass.  We were not about to let it melt.  It was every bit as luxurious and amazing as our server had promised.  The Tiramisu, usually our Achilles' heel,  sat in the center of the table until our tummies had time to settle and make room for our favorite delectable treat.  We didn't notice anything else that was happening around us.  People continued to stop by and ask if we needed anything, bringing us fresh ice water and clearing away our dirty dishes.  We'd glance up and thank them for the water, then delve right back into catching each other up on our lives.

You should have seen me when the hostess reached over to clear our almost empty plate of Tiramisu. 
 
"Are you ready for me to take that?" she sweetly asked. 

Didn't she see there were still three bites of creamy, chocolaty goodness left on it? Of course we weren't ready for her to take it!  We needed those last few morsels to carry us through the last hour of our night together.

Of course, like everything in life, our extraordinary night had to come to an end.  After dinner, she drove me home.  Elizabeth and I sat in my driveway, squeezing in "one more thing" ten times before I finally had to go inside.  I waved good-bye, kissed Mark hello, and she drove home to her husband and sleeping children. 

Today, it's back to reality of cooking dinners, wiping bottoms, and refereeing squabbles: being moms.  I woke up to a message from my wonderful friend telling me how revitalizing last night was for her, and how she forgot to tell me some other very important stuff.  I guess we really needed that agenda after all...and a few more hours.  Thank you, my extraordinary friend, for everything! 

Mark keeps asking me what I want for my birthday this week.  All I'd really like is some time away for a facial and dinner at Olive Garden with my family.   A facial, some breadsticks, and maybe my readers could take a sec to share one of their favorite posts of mine:  now that would be a great birthday! 

Here's the cake from my 30th Birthday.  I'd like to pretend that I'm turning 30 again!

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