How long has it been since you had a real live date with your significant other? Unfortunately, most of us can’t hop on Air Force One and fly to Broadway to take in a show so date night becomes yet another casualty of uber busy lives and ultra slim wallets. It takes a real effort to decide that after a day of working–either around the house or in the office–that you’re going to get up, get dressed, and go out to impress someone you’re already involved with. But let me tell you it’s worth the effort.
Hubby and I went out on a real live date tonight for the first time in about six months. The Arlington Theater runs a special on Mondays and Tuesdays where for $28 you get two tickets to a movie and dinner at a local restaurant. We decided that we couldn’t beat the price and that it was about time we spent some time together as grownups instead of just Mom and Dad. We didn’t dress up for our date, but it was nice to leave the house together knowing that we weren’t just running errands.
Dinner was at Harry’s in downtown Arlington Heights and the food wasn’t fancy, just bar burgers and tater tots, but we were out alone and got to enjoy talking to each other about things we were interested in instead of hearing about the latest “tragedy” to befall our daughter or about the latest video game our son was playing. We got to talk about current events, about work, and just be together.
After dinner, we strolled downtown Arlington Heights and even spent some time wandering around Yankee Candle smelling all the scented candles. We even brought home a few lilac candles to fill our house with the blissful smell of lilacs long after our lilac bush stopped blooming.
We got to the theater early and easily found seats in the relatively empty theater. We talked and chatted some more while we wanted for the movie to start. We even enjoyed sitting through the previews and identified a few more movies we’d like to see. Then it was showtime and we settled in to watch Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. There was no high drama to be had as our Larry the night watchman teamed with Amelia Earhart to defeat an ancient Egyptian Pharaoh bent on world domination. I won’t give away the plot, but it was campy and fun and a good way to spend a few hours.
Most of all Hubby and I got to hold hands and enjoy being together. Definitely worth the $28 we paid to escape to Bliss Theater.
Cairn by Cairn 