Date Night Woes

Ruanita and I have a date night planned tomorrow night. Well, actually, it is not exactly planned yet…but we do have a great babysitter lined up. My aunt, Lee, has offered to watch the kids for us and has informed us that we should go out early and stay out late. Do whatever we want to do. Take. Our. Time.

Sounds great, huh? I am super excited…aside from the fact that Ruanita and I have no idea what to do with ourselves without the kids. How sad is that? There will definitely be food involved in this outing. We have dinner reservations at La Grolla, an Italian restaurant in St Paul, which I am looking forward to. Beyond that, the evening is our oyster. The sky's the limit. The possibilities for fun and debauchery are endless. So why can’t either of us think of a single thing to do in this fair city? A single thing that is not “kid friendly”?

We've considered several options. The cliche dinner and a movie? There is not a movie out in theaters right now that we are dying to see. With movie ticket prices being what they are, a movie would have to be an absolute MUST SEE for me to forgo biding my time until I can get it on Netflix. We briefly considered taking in one of the shows at Minneapolis' Music & Movies in the Park…free live music and movies playing all summer long at local parks. However, it is hot and neither of us particularly enjoys sweating. Plus, Ruanita will get eaten alive by mosquitoes and I will have to feign pity for days. We considered bowling…not exactly romantic, but something we both enjoy but rarely get to do. Unfortunately, Ruanita reminded me that I have an air cast on my leg right now…something I am trying hard to forget. I am not the most graceful bowler on an average day. Add a cast to that scenario and I can easily see me hurling myself down the lane. So that’s a no-go. I suggested miniature golf. However, that lends itself to the same issues as a concert in the park…sweat and bugs. What about a museum? I love museums and I adore art. However, going to a museum on a rarely obtained night out somehow feels wrong to me. I feel as though we should be doing something a little more exciting than that…living it up a little. How about heading out to a bar to do a little dancing and drinking? First and foremost, there aren’t really any good lesbian bars left in the Twin Cities these days. Plus, Ruanita’s drinking days are long gone. She used to party it up, but her old body can’t handle it anymore. And mine is not far behind her. So we would be the old middle-aged lesbians, sitting at a table in the back, yawning since it would be well past our bedtime, sipping the same cocktail for an hour, watching the young tattooed and dreadlocked girls dancing naughty on the dance floor, lamenting the state of today’s politically uninformed, unengaged, non-activist young lesbian who is just out for a good time (and secretly envying her)…probably wondering whether or not the kids gave Lee a hard time at bedtime. I’ll pass on that whole pathetic scenario, thank you very much.

So what are a couple of old mommies to do on a date night out? Then again, why do we have to DO anything? I am quickly coming to the realization that partying is no longer our thing. Debauchery is a pastime for the young…and frankly, they can have it. What I really want to do tomorrow night is reconnect with my partner after a long, grueling week. Maybe a quiet coffee shop somewhere where we can sit and chat? I don’t even care if we chat about the kids. Maybe dessert at a good pastry shop? Walk around the lake holding hands? An entire evening of doing absolutely nothing would be absolutely heavenly.