Tag Archives: Project 52

Family matters

Date night’s triumphant return

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Quite a number of months ago, Rockford and I made a pledge to go on a weekly date. And I was writing about the dates, and they were fun, and then they stopped. It was supposed to be a 52-date project, but we only made it to date No. 9 before things interfered. We went a few weeks without having an official date, and then we forgot about it altogether.

But! We’re trying to start again. And thus I present to you:

10/52
Project 52: Date Nights logo

  • The friend with whom you’ve set up a date-night babysitting exchange
  • Trivia night.

    • A friend with whom Rockford and I went to high school lives in our city, and he is very hip and active in the Fun Things to Do scene. He goes to a trivia night downtown pretty regularly, and the last time he posted something about it on Facebook I asked him about it. And last night, Rockford and I finally went.

    Trivia night was held upstairs in a rather seedy-looking bar, and I only knew two of our six team members. But it was so much fun! The categories ranged from video game consoles to cartoon sidekicks to beer to movies, and I actually managed to come up with a few answers. Here are two of the questions I was able to answer:

  • From the cartoon sidekicks category: Kimber Benton, Shana Elmsford and Rio Pacheco. Can you name their show?
  • This beer comes in four “colors,” but most people drink their red, white or blue. As someone who doesn’t drink at all, I was pretty pleased to come up with this one. Do you know it?

    Trivia night was loud and quite a bit more raucous than our typical Monday night, but it was surprisingly relaxing to spend a few hours answering silly questions and hanging out with friends. And did I mention how much fun it was? We’ll definitely go back.

    Oh, and also? We won! Go team!

    • Family matters

    Date Night Nine really was one big holiday

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    9/52
    Project 52: Date Nights logo

  • A set of SuperGrandparents.
  • A bit of entirely unscheduled free time.
  • Good friends.
  • Concert tickets.

    • My in-laws had signed on a few months ago to watch the kids for us this past weekend so we could go to a My Morning Jacket show. Then my sister-in-law had an unexpected need for help, for the very same weekend. Her husband was going to be in Haiti on a mission trip, and she had to take one of her four children out of town for an academic awards thing. Rather than dragging everyone along, she’d asked my in-laws to come stay with half of her brood. I was thinking that academics + social service took precedent over my desire to go to a concert, so I volunteered to stay home. But the in-laws just donned their superhero capes and said, “Nope! We’ll just pick the kids up on our way through and take them along.”

    All of this is to say: Rockford and I found ourselves with an unexpected and glorious swath of free time on Thursday evening. We went out for pizza, wandered around the bookstore almost until it closed, took an aimless walk and then went to a movie (“Shutter Island“). It was a spectacular date. But the free time? It wasn’t over! On Friday morning we went to the library and then to Lowe’s, where we bought a new weed whacker. (I know! So much romance!) Then we drove and drove and drove to Mike and Brook’s house, had a great barbecue dinner and then went to the concert.

    After a nice breakfast Saturday morning, we drove and drove and drove some more to my sister-in-law’s house, where we re-entered the world of diapers and fruit snacks and arguing about taking antibiotics. I did miss the kids — really! — but our extended Thursday-Friday date was some of the most relaxing time Rockford and I have spent together in, well, years maybe.

    Family matters

    I went back to Ohio, but my city was gone

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    We had guests this weekend, so date night was almost shuffled aside this week. Those guests, though, had concert tickets for Friday night. So rather than turn on the TV after they’d left for the show and the kids had gone to bed, we pulled out a new game and played it until bedtime. There was, once again, no dressing up (or even changing out of my sweatshirt), but we had a lot of fun playing cards together anyway.

    3/52
    Project 52: Date Nights logo

  • Two children in bed.
  • House guests otherwise occupied.
  • A copy of Lost Cities.*

    • This was my first week “planning” date night, and all I did this time was buy a game in the event that we’d have time to play it. I’m at bat for all of March, and I’m a little nervous. I’ve made a list of things I thought would work nicely, but now I’m second-guessing myself and worrying that they’re too cheesy. Maybe we’ll just play “Lost Cities” every week for a month.

    (I will try not to do that. I promise.)

    *It’s an adventure-themed card game with five suits that’s reminiscent of gin rummy. Each suit corresponds to an “expedition.” It’s addictive.