I had a super hot date with a married woman last night. She was about 5’5”, blonde, with a wicked sense of humor…it was me guys. I’m talking about me. I took myself out to dinner for the first time in my entire life. I’m not talking about a random stop at a fast food place, or ordering enough Chinese food for 4 people to eat by myself. I’m talking about a full on, fancy, dress up, dim lighting kind of evening.
My husband has been working a lot of late nights recently, so I’ve been flying solo with the kids during arguably the worst hours of motherhood. You know what I’m talking about. In our home it starts around 4:30 and goes until they fall asleep. They’re tired, hungry, and honestly all around horrible, which makes dealing with it alone an arduous task.
So when I realized I had an hour and a half to myself last night (thank you church kids club) I had two choices. I could either go home and fold laundry for the 800th time that week, or I could do something wild and spontaneous. Since I didn’t have enough time to get an elaborate tattoo, or fly to Las Vegas, I settled for dinner.
When I first had the idea for #MillennialMama I promised myself that I would never wax poetic about the challenges of motherhood, or the oppression of Mommy Guilt. It has the potential to be a total snooze-fest, and honestly people far more eloquent than I have written about it at length.
However, I feel very strongly that women in general, not just mothers, are discouraged from spending time alone. It’s like there is something wrong with you if you don’t constantly want to be with your girlfriends, or your boyfriends, or your spouses. And while these relationships are obviously incredibly important, we find ourselves searching for value in other people before we consult ourselves.
What I will say, is that there was something empowering yet terrifying as I sat down at my little table for one. My date got off to a rocky start when the waitress tried to take my menu away, after I had only ordered an appetizer. Ummm no I was not finished, and yes I am going to order an antipasto board and a buffalo brown sugar pizza to enjoy by myself, thank you very much! But it quickly got better as I settled into the atmosphere around me.
I spent my time eating, writing, and eavesdropping. Honestly, my favorite past times. I was only at the restaurant for an hour, but I felt super content and full (of pizza. Why didn’t the waitress take the menu when she had the chance?!) and all around satisfied with myself.
Am I saying that I reinvented the wheel? No. All I am suggesting is that we take some time to be alone with ourselves. Challenge yourself to schedule a solo date. Put on some lip gloss, spray in that dry shampoo, and take off the yoga pants. Trust me. Who knows? You just might have a good time!
Love Always,
#MillennialMama