Quick poll for the audience? Does anyone out there remember when they first started dating their significant other?
For me, it's already been a decade since Bethany and I started
dated but I still remember it fondly. I was ecstatic each week when our date
nights on Wednesday would roll around. Hopefully I'm remembering the day
correctly because I'm sure Bethany will if I don't. It didn't really matter
what we were doing as long as we got to hang out. In fact, I'm 92% certain that
the majority of our dates were grabbing dinner at the student union and talking
over a movie playing in the background of my dorm room.
Of course, the dynamic changed once we were married too.
Don't worry. I won't go into too much detail because I know no one wants that.
It was the simple things that were nice. Eating dinner together every day as we
rehashed the events of the day. Playing board games or going to our apartment's
pool in the evening. Binge-watching reruns of 'Reba' on Lifetime for reasons
that still perplex me.
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| The side-splitting humor 'Reba' is famous for... |
All of that being said, one of the things I would most (and
still do) look forward to was actually being able to spend birthdays together
and celebrate. So, that makes it extremely convenient that yesterday marked
Bethany's 30th birthday! Woo woo! Now, don't think less of me for saying this,
but we don't really do anything massive or over the top for birthdays in our
house.
Taking that into account, Bethany had one simple request for
her birthday which was to go to the White Horse Pub. In case you're wondering,
White Horse Pub is a British-themed pub that is in a strip mall across the
street from our subdivision that has become a favorite of ours. We honestly
have been pretty excited as we don't eat out a ton and had been planning it for
a couple of weeks. There was one slight problem that we never even thought
about though.
It all began simply enough. The plan was for Bethany to let
me know when she was getting close to home and I would get Ellie out the door
and into the RAV4. That way all Bethany would need to do is switch cars and
we'd be good to go. I know you're thinking that Ellie somehow caused an issue
here. Nope, she was perfect and that part went off without a hitch.
We even managed to make it across North Oak Trafficway to
the White Horse Pub without any kind of misfortune befalling us. The issue
reared its ugly head as soon as we pulled into an empty parking lot. Normally an
empty parking lot isn't all bad as it means you don't have to wait for a table.
This was though because in all of our excitement and planning, we forgot that the
White Horse Pub is closed on Tuesdays. **gasp in horror**
I'm sure you can envision our palpable disappointment after
discovering that tidbit of information. Even more so when you realize I hadn't
prepared a backup plan. I definitely would have prepared some kind of special
birthday meal but it can be difficult with Ellie around. Especially true when
you consider Ellie's new nap routine of sleeping on my chest and therefore
trapping me in one place each afternoon for at least an hour and a half. After
a little bit of back and forth, we finally decided on Pizza Ranch as we were already
hungry and knew that wouldn't take long.
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| Proof of the baby sleeping... |
If you've never been to Pizza Ranch, basically envision a
wild west-themed pizza buffet that also randomly has fried chicken. We headed
in and staked claim to our table before Bethany took the first shift getting
food while I sat with Ellie. When she returned, I went to do the same before
walking back to our table to find Ellie had already abandoned her high chair
and taken up residence on Bethany's lap. While we generally try to avoid stuff
like that, we just allowed it to happen as both Ellie and Bethany were missing
each other after a long day.
In case you're expecting a fascinating story of more things
gone wrong, this isn't it. The only thing that could possibly be construed as going
wrong is Ellie getting chocolate pudding on her shirt. That's not really that
big of an issue though because...well, because she's a baby.
And now, I've reached my point. Since it's Valentine's Day
and I'm expected to get all sappy and stuff, there's no one who'd I rather go
through everyday misadventures with than my wife. Not only is she a great wife,
but she's a fantastic mother to Ellie even when it's hard (It can definitely be
hard). Not to mention the way she encourages me in all of my various endeavors and foolish escapades,
as well as in my faith.
Even when we're unable to properly celebrate birthdays
because we don't know our favorite restaurant's hours of business, life together
is always fun. Luckily for me, we probably still have a good 40 to 50 years of
everyday misadventures left to look forward to. You know, as long as I don't
drive her too nuts in the meantime with stupid jokes, childish tendencies, and
putting nearly empty containers of milk back in the fridge. #DaddyWrite
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| My girls. |
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