27 May 2009

The Great Escape









Saturday night My Sweets kidnapped me to this beautiful place in the mountains. It was our first real dinner date in a while, and {as usual} I had no idea where he was taking me. I wore my "Snoopy" boots and a pretty fabric flower in my hair.


The woodsy air was fresh. The hour-long motorcycle ride empowering. The gardens fragrant. The atmosphere laid back. The food decadent. The lil' red birds distracting. The conversation inspiring. The fireside chat a bit flirty. The sunset an electrifying shade of pink. The ride home freezing at times but worth every second.


It was such a treat to have a few hours alone with My Sweets. We go out to eat, but we are usually a party of 4. We've learned to hit nicer restaurants before the crowds. We go prepared with sippy cups, waters and healthy snacks. Buby has been fine dining with us since he was born, and both kiddos are so well behaved that we {mostly} enjoy taking them everywhere.


That said, I know My Sweets would love to kidnap me more often. He's always trying to get me on the bike, which I love. BUT we live 5 hours from family and just haven't connected with any awesome babysitters since Bleu was born. Our few local friends have their own hectic schedules + wee ones to chase after. When we visit Family Land we sometimes have Grandma DJ put Buby to bed while we sneak out, but Bleu has always come with. When family stays with us, we often put one or both kids to bed ourselves and then slip out for a bite within walking distance of the house.


Honestly, I just stink at the separation anxiety thing. I had no idea before becoming a mom that it would be so hard to leave them with other people. And since both Buby + Bleu breastfed the first year, we're sort of connected at the nip during that time. I'm cool with it. My Sweets is cool with it. Bleu is especially cool with it, since she hasn't expressed any interest in weaning yet. {We're so close, and I wouldn't trade that for all the freedom in the world. Babies are teeny for such a short time.} She screamed bloody murder when I walked out the kitchen door on Saturday, but within 5 minutes Grandma had her up in the playroom window smiling + laughing goodbye with her brother. It set my mind at ease.


By the way, riding through the mountains on a Harley... at sunset... with the man of your dreams... there's nothing like it. The Catskills are an incredible sight. Whenever Tom + I are out gallivanting on the bike I feel 16 again... with the guy who turned his engine off down the block so my parents wouldn't know he was picking me up on a Crotch Rocket.


When we got within a mile of our house I proposed we finally break in that babysitter whose number I've been sitting on. She's a senior in high school, and we know her from our coffee shop. We can start slow, like lunch in the village. We'd love to plan on a bike date every other weekend this summer though.



4 comments:

Maria Jordan MacKeigan said...

Sweetness, I hear ya about the anxiety, our first outing leaving Nena with someone other than family was valentine's weekend, My Baby Blue's sister gave us concert tickets and we HAD to go, but honestly, I cried the whole entire time and didn't even record it on the blog...it was not enjoyable...Nena slept the whole time we were out and my friend just chilled in the living room until we got home...man oh man! I love your sweet love story though!

Buby + Bleu said...

I know exactly what you mean. Before Saturday we'd left Bleu 3xs total since she was born, twice with Grandma DJ and once with Grandma M. All three times we left while she was sleeping, so we never walked out with her crying. (Though I shed a few tears myself.)

It's a process. I know it'll get a lot easier as she gets older. She's growing up very fast.

Grandma DJ said...

funny .. you will survive!! love you forever

allison said...

Sounds like such a great evening. I know what you mean about going out without a little one. I'm blessed to have my parents so close to us and they're awesome babysitters, so I have no worries, but it was very hard to leave G when I was nursing so much. Good luck with your new babysitter.