Yesterday, L. and I had our first date in eight and a half months! It wasn't the most extravagant or the longest or the farthest from home, but it was absolutely perfect. My dear friend R. came over to watch V. while L. and I went to a nearby park to have a lunch-time picnic and play cards. (Thank you, thank you, thank you, R.!) On our way to the park, L. looked at me and said, "This is weird." He was right; it's been over eight months since we've both ridden in the front seat of a car together. It's been over eight months since we've gone anywhere together without our daughter.
Wow.
Since this was V.'s first time ever being watched by someone other than us, I felt a bit of trepidation...but not much. She loves R. and R. loves her, and they were at our home, making it all more familiar than not for V. We made sure that we left the house when V. was distracted and, honestly, she didn't seem to know we were missing. They had a blast, R. said when we returned, singing and dancing and playing with toys.
Because we suspected V. would be comfortable and at-ease, we were able to enjoy our date without worry. And we weren't gone long this first time. Just an hour. Just right. Of course, we've known all along that parents need to nurture themselves individually and nurture their partnership jointly in order to fully nurture their children, but knowing and putting into practice are such different things, aren't they?
But yesterday we did it. We took a bit of time for ourselves and gave V. a new growth opportunity. I'd say we all enjoyed it immensely and are better off for it, too. We're all taking our baby steps now.
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