For the first time in I honestly don't know how long, I drank until buzzed. Guess how many Labatts it took? One and three quarters. And it was awesome.
We gathered for a potluck at a friend's place Saturday with the kiddos and let them go wild. I guess Ma went wild, too. Afterwards, the women went to a kooky play about teens in the 80s and the dads watched the wee ones. It was great fun; it had been a long time since doing something with friends and minimizing the baby talk (although not completely eliminating it).
Three or four years ago, however, with the same crew of people (minus the wee ones), we would have been sitting at a dive bar, drinking water moccasins, singing power ballads on the karaoke machine, drunk-dialing our friend's parents until 2 am, and assuming it was a taxi that brought us home at some point.
But things change. They all tell you that when you have kids, but it's hard to wrap your head around it. Today, I celebrate when I get 30 minutes to myself to read. And then I feel guilty for not being productive. Two years ago I would have spent an entire Sunday watching some VH1 countdown or a Real World marathon (the old-school ones) and painting my nails. Today I buy versatile and comfortable shoes that I can wear for both work and at home, and I make sure they are a bargain. Two years ago I'd buy a ridiculously uncomfortable pair of the cutest shoes, wear them once, and throw them in a closet without a second thought except to think, "Man, those were cute shoes." Today I schedule out time with friends a month or more in advance to plan around family obligations and work. A few years ago we'd do spontaneous happy hours after work and linger there for hours.
But I'm not complaining. I'm happy. I wouldn't trade my little girl shrieking "A-ya ya!" for anything. The old things still make me pretty happy on occasion, though, like my good 'ol friend, Buzzed. Maybe we'll have to plan a karaoke/water moccasin night a month or two down the road...
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