Last night Ivan and I had plans to meet a co-worker of his and his fiancee for dinner. This is a guy that Ivan is quite close with and has gotten to know really well over the last several years. They actually meet for a drink after work most Thursdays. Not always, but more often than not.
I’d never even met him though, and the guys have been saying for a long time that we should get together as couples so “the women” could meet, too. Considering that we recently got an invitation to their upcoming wedding this summer, we figured it’d be nice to make this happen sooner than later.
I’m not the world’s most naturally social person, and sometimes I get a little nervous feeling/ awkward if I don’t know someone well. I don’t always love situations where you have to make that inevitable introductory small talk and smile and try to act friendly without coming across too friendly…. Or what if we don’t click at all and the whole thing is weird? Ha. I also definitely over-think this sort of thing.
So, I was half looking forward to the dinner/ half a little uneasy about it.
But it turned out to be fabulous! They were both super, super nice and very fun and easy to talk to. No weirdness or awkwardness at all. In fact, we were there for over 2 hours and I could have easily stayed longer. I really liked them.
I also ended up having a ton in common with the fiancee, which was kind of ironic and funny! (We both have one sister who is 2 1/2 years older, both played volleyball in high school, both majored in Spanish in college, etc. And we actually work for the same company! She’s in HR, I’m in Nursing, obviously, but still.)
Can I also just say how amazing it is for the boys to be old enough to stay home alone now? They’ve been able to for quite a while now, but OMG life is soooo much easier when you don’t need to think about babysitters and childcare.
Anyway, I’m glad we had a fun night and it was refreshing, especially after these pandemic years, to do something social (with non-family members or just each other!) and out of our normal routine. We don’t hang out with friends a lot, really, which I’m generally fine with. But this was nice!!
Since I don’t have any accompanying photo, here’s a random cartoon I saw yesterday on a gardening page and liked enough to save….. lol!!
Daily Gratitude:
I am grateful for the boys being able to stay home alone!
GRATEFUL KAE 
Wow, that’s so awesome! I love it when you meet someone new and click with them… and I’m like you, I can be a little socially awkward/shy and not a fan of small talk. So I’m super happy for you!!
Also, I can’t imagine the freedom of being able to leave the boys at home and head off out. What a cool place to reach! Not sure we’ll ever have that with A, but we’re blessed with plenty of childcare to help out. I’m super happy for you that you are at that stage, that you appreciate it, and that you take advantage of it!!
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Good, quality, reliable childcare, especially if you’ll need it for the long haul with A, is so key! That’s amazing that you have that.
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Thank you!
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Glad you had fun!
I never would’ve guessed that about you.
I usually say yes and jump but I was invited to a sheepshead party and I don’t know how. So guess I’ll be learning cards this winter.
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That is brave!! I don’t know how to play many card games at all, so I probably would have just said no!! Good job for taking on a new challenge. I bet you’ll have fun.
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I totally feel you, not liking to do social events by “obligation”. It’s good that you went with low expectation and were happily surprised. that’s the best! right? I can’t wait for the girls to be “safe” enough to stay at home alone.
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We’re inching ever closer to the point where the kids will be old enough to stay home alone and…I’m excited! Even now we will let them play in the yard while we walk around a little neighbourhood loop and they walk to some nearby friends houses.
I was just reading about someone with little kids who was describing her daily life complete with naps and constant toy cleaning. I went through those stages and they had lots of fun moments, but I can say that 95% of the time, I don’t miss those littler stages.
I love that the kids: can buckle themselves into the car, feed and dress and bathe themselves, Talk. Put themselves to bed if needed. Brush their own teeth.
Parenting can still feel very exhausting, but this stage is definitely easier for me than the earlier years!
So glad you had a fun evening. It’s so nice to connect with other adults, especially when those introductory stages don’t feel awkward.
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Oh, if only every new encounter would be so early… I “dread” these kind of “new, introductory” events, but if you hit it off right away, then it’s awesome!
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*easy… haha… I meant ‘easy’ 🙂
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That sounds like such a fun night out! It’s so wonderful when a couple connects with another couple and both members of the couple enjoy each other. That has luckily been the case with Phil’s college friends. In fact, I see his friends’ wives more than he sees his friends – or did before pandemic times… Phil has not meshed as well with my friends and their spouses. I am a hardcore introvert but I am social/outgoing and can be good at meeting people. Phil is a quiet introvert and honestly not the best conversationalist. He likes to sit back and listen and not great at asking questions, etc. Plus my friends all married 10 or more years before we did, so there is this long history of the other couples knowing each other super well. So I have just had to accept that I see my friends on my own for the most part, and then we spend time together with Phil’s friends and their families. Plus his friends are in a similar life stage whereas my friends have kids in upper elementary to middle school.
I look forward to a time when we can leave our boys at home alone but wow that is a long ways off for us. I was listening to the mom hour podcast about pandemic babies and plan to write a post about what they discussed. One thing that is different for Will is that he has never had a babysitter. We haven’t had a reason to go out in the last year+ and the one time we were going to go out and hired a babysitter, he had a terrible allergic reaction to amoxicillin so we had to cancel our babysitter. Will is still nursing so it would be hard to get a babysitter unless she comes after he is in bed. I am thinking I will try to wean him over the next month or so as I have a work trip in April and don’t want to pump. I have put Will to bed every night except one night since he was born. Phil did bedtime in December when I took Paul to a light show and Will screamed for 40+ minutes for phil! So I think weaning him will be a bit tough initially but then we’ll have more freedom to hire a babysitter. I think.
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