Last night was what our nanny calls, "date night". My wife and I try to go out once a week and engage in adult pursuits. And no, I don't mean s-x clubs (the "-" is to hopefully avoid those searching for just those kinds of references). I mean, at minimum, an adult beverage, grown up conversation, and dinner without cutting up the food of the person sitting next to me. It can be very relaxing and is important. It's important to remember why you enjoyed this person's company before you had kids.

We went to dinner by ourselves after some friends bagged on us. They had a good excuse. He was admitted to the hospital with a an irregular heart beat (and should be just fine). We are, however, the harbinger of doom for dinner companions. This is the third couple in a row to cancel dinner based on health emergencies. One other person tore her achilles tendon playing tennis and another person's father died. I feel like in all good conscience we should not be permitted to make dinner plans with anyone else without first warning them and giving them a chance to reflect on the risks. That said, no one who ever actually made it to dinner with us has been injured in the dining itself, hangovers the next day excepted.

So we went out by ourselves to a lovely little place overlooking the Long Island Sound. Breezes off the water made for a comfortable outside dinner. What made the evening so memorable, for now, was the quality of the light. The light was so compelling as it changed with the sundown. The water looked different, of course, but it was the land that captured my attention. There was a little peninsula and cove across from my seat and the light on the trees and rocks was downright painterly. It made me think of chiaroscuro, the Italian painting technique by which you contrast light and dark to produce depth. The changing light from the sundown and the reflection of that light off the water made the trees look as if they were rendered by an expert hand with the shadowy bits throwing the sunlit bits into greater relief and contrast. It was very peaceful to sit there, cooled by the breeze, sipping from a bourbon and soda, and chatting companionably with my wife, who is a very interesting conversationalist.

All in all, it was a lovely night. Until the nanny rang my wife's cell phone to say that the alarm at the house was going off and they couldn't get it turned off. So, we went from relaxed to not in 2 seconds, rushed home, and fixed the problem. I think it was no more than a dying battery in the smoke detector. Harmony restored once more.

Until 5:17 this morning when I had an attack of the killer leg cramp in my calf. I actually found what sounds like a reasonable explanation for nocturnal leg cramps. That's why I'm up so early and writing a bit.

Have a great weekend, y'all!

Posted by: Random Penseur at 07:02 AM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
Post contains 518 words, total size 3 kb.

1 Are you in CT or Long Island? I'm Bridgeport myself, and your description sounded a lot like the view from Knapp's Landing in Stratford. Too bad you had to cut the evening short, but it sounds like you had a wonderful time while it lasted.

Posted by: Tuning Spork at July 17, 2004 10:20 AM (k/aql)

2 So about those leg cramps, time you stopped wearing the high heels then? I too suffer from leg cramps (but only in my right calf) from time to time. I now keep a Homeopathic cure in my bedside table 'Hylands: Leg Cramps with Quinine' which I can reach easily enough when the cramps strike, they really help! Remember to keep out of children's reach!

Posted by: Mia at July 17, 2004 01:07 PM (hHa99)

3 Eat more bananas. Potassium? At least that's what my husband tells me for the leg cramps. I work for lawyers, so I can draft up a consent form for your dinner partners. Heh.

Posted by: Emma at July 17, 2004 01:52 PM (NOZuy)

4 The only time I get leg cramps is when I am pregnant...oh oh...could it be?

Posted by: Annie at July 17, 2004 04:43 PM (celwv)

5 May I suggest any libation with Tonic a good source of Quinine - help for leg cramps.

Posted by: Wicked H at July 17, 2004 05:07 PM (7TrL0)

6 I'm just amazed that you and your wife got out together! The last time dh and I went somewhere together it was for me to have X-rays of my knee. We did stop at the bagel hole on our way home though...does that count as a date? My dh also suffers from leg cramps. For reasons known only to G-d and the internet imps, I can't connect to the site you linked to, but hopefully I'll be able to tomorrow.

Posted by: Rachel Ann at July 18, 2004 12:23 AM (7A34+)

7 Wow! What a wealth of comments! I'll try to respond in some kind of order: Tunig: We are in lower Westchester, actually. So just down the coast from you in CT. It did cut the evening short. I had planned on romantic walk next to the water and holding hands. Mia: Flats make my calves look fat. Thanks for the remedy suggestion! Emma: I think your husband is right about the missing mineral. I love consent forms! Annie: I'd be making medical history! Wicked: Very interesting suggestion. That is the kind of self medication I like. Also has side benefit of being proof against Malaria! Rachel: I counts as a date if you felt date-like. If you had adult conversation and didn't use it only as a time to update your schedules and the kids schedules. What is a dh? Besides, designated hitter?

Posted by: Random Penseur at July 18, 2004 07:06 AM (X3Lfs)

8 dh, I believe, stands for "dear husband" or "darling husband". On a bad day, I suppose it could be "d_ck head." Sorry. I'll slap my own hands; I'm closer.

Posted by: Emma at July 18, 2004 04:29 PM (NOZuy)

9 Oh, good one. Odd, isn't it, how often the bad days pop up?

Posted by: RP at July 19, 2004 09:44 AM (LlPKh)

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