Friday Nights

I'd like to say there was a time in my life when I got really excited about going out on a Friday night. Like in college. But in college I worked every Friday night because those were the nights you could make the most waiting tables. And after college? I was too tired to go out. Between working full time and being in grad school and driving back and forth to Georgia to see Justin, there was very little energy left for Friday nights. And now? Forget about it. I'm usually game for going out to dinner in the middle of the week to break things up, but I'm done by Friday. All I want to do is curl up with a good book and go to sleep.

With no dinner plans tonight, Justin and I were unsure of how to proceed, so I called our good friends Micah and Allie. Allie and I made the colossal mistake of attempting to involve the men in our decision-making, which just made it more difficult. And after a series of calls back and forth to Justin and Allie, I grew tired of mediating and made an executive decision. Justin wanted Christopher's, which serves some pretty fabulous burgers. Being the mother of a one-year-old, I decided that hanging out with Robbie in a crowded restaurant, waiting at least 45 minutes for a table was not on my list of fun things to do. In that moment, I knew I had to take one for the team. I would get dinner together (this involved a trip to the store), feed and bathe Robbie, and pick up the house. I know... How does she do it?

Well, having a husband come home and bathe Robbie helps. Until you have to go in to make the child stop screaming because he does not like the way his father repeatedly dumps water over his head to rinse off the shampoo. But, really, Justin was invaluable tonight... He did cook the burgers after I made them (I mixed bleu cheese in with the meat, which I thought was pretty fabulous and inspired).

You know what? It was the perfect thing to do. After dinner, we sat around the dining room table for an hour or so. Talking like we haven't had time to do in months. And laughing. I'd honestly forgotten how hilarious we all are (OK, how funny the rest of them are!). And when we decided it was getting cold with all the windows open, we did what any normal people would have done. We went outside and built a fire and sat, staring at it, for the next hour.

In case you're keeping track, we really did nothing tonight. And my kitchen is still a wreck (I keep waiting on Justin to clean it for me, but I doubt that will happen this late in the game). But it was the perfect night of nothing. Sometimes, at the end of a long week (even though it was really a great week), there is nothing better than the solace of your house and good friends. Thank goodness for both!