I had the best date ever last night (and it wasn’t with my husband)! SCANDAL ALERT!!! Oh now, calm down. I’m boring in that arena. Trust me. My days of thinking the movie ‘Wunderlust’ is healthy is sooooo far behind me. The only “other” man in my life will always be my son.
After all, he is THE best thing I ever did. I mean that with all my heart. I love my spouse, and I am very thankful for his partnership. Yes, marriage to me is much more about beings Partners than Lovers. Don’t get me wrong, we are “in love”…but when that cute little boy snuggles up to me on the couch just to sneak in a hug, or strokes my hair when I fall asleep on the couch watching baseball with him, I swoon hardcore. I feel a love that only a mother can explain.
Lately, I’ve been super stressed with work and family stuff. We have been diligent about paying off debt & saving money so we can open our Holistic Market next year, but being responsible is exhausting. We hadn’t been “out” together in months and tensions were high! I didn’t notice that those special moments with my boy I cherished so much were taking the hit. However, my awesome PARTNER did notice. Now, we could have gotten a sitter and had some hubby/wife time, but my sweet Jack Francis saw a better idea.
Saturday morning, I woke up to find two tickets to see Star Wars with the LA Philharmonic playing LIVE. I was confused. Only two? Who was going? Now, when you have two kids and both parents are very social, this usually means one thing. Someone is staying home to babysit. Solo nights out are the norm. It’s just understood. Naturally, I thought this meant he and Ollie were going, but when I learned I got to go I was so excited!!!!
Backstory, as a strong-willed woman and the breadwinner, I’m usually the “enforcer” in our house. Don’t get it twisted. I don’t enjoy this role. However, I married an Artist and I am a Producer so instinctually …he’s ‘the creative’ with the great ideas, and I am ‘the realist’ who figures out how to make it happen (this dynamic is happily shifting in our house as we speak but more about that on the next blog.). This past dynamic worked for the first 6 years of marriage but in the past 2 years, it’s really covered up some of the things I love most about myself. Long story short, I deserve to be “the fun one” too. He knows how much I have sacrificed in that vein to maintain the growing demands of our young family. Our scale tips more and more back to the middle every day which is HEAVEN and this was his way of encouraging me to get my groove back.
Jack was our “Lyft” to and from the movie. The moment we were on our own, my son and I had a BLAST!! We geeked-out with lightsaber battles, junk food, and good times until we almost dropped. We both fell asleep in the car, practically drooling as our sugar rush faded. It was epic and the best time in a long time.
Point is this…dating your kids is important. When I stood up and started fighting Darth Vader with my lightsaber from my seat, my son’s jaw dropped. “Mom, don’t embarrass us!” He said. But then, he saw a sea of Star Wars fans all joining in and totally got it. I went from “dork” to “trendsetter” in 2 seconds. Winning!!! Ollie realized in that moment that while I will always handle our responsibilities first, I will also make time to let loose. I woke up on Sunday feeling like I gained some of my cool points back. Score one for mom! Thanks to dad! I guess it’s all about moderation and time management, Daily Feelers. May the force be with you!
JB McCann has worked in “The Biz” for almost a decade, yet she’s somehow managed to keep her feet firmly on the ground. Her altruistic spirit aims to evoke your Inner Phoenix and encourage readers to take the difficult leaps in life, so you can continue to grow.