Written by Ashley
Long gone are the days when my husband and I could just get up and go out to a nice dinner, play a few rounds of pool, kick back at the bowling alley, or even go see a movie (I haven’t stepped foot in a movie theater in nearly two years). But it’s still important to make time for my marriage, even with a little peanut at home (maybe even more so).
A few months back, a new grocery store opened up in our neighborhood. This wasn’t just any ‘ole food center – this was the cream of the crop supermarket that had a full blown bar, made-to-order pizzas, a gelato counter, and even flew in bagels from the Bronx daily. This place was awesome.
We first ventured there out of pure necessity. We needed to pick up something on a Friday night and ended up finding out that every Friday night is wine tasting night (yes, please) with live music. We ordered dinner and sat down in the dining area, which featured beautiful dark wood furniture and black leather couches. The little one snacked on some puffs and enjoyed people watching. It was a successful night that ended with a movie rental from Redbox.
After that night, it became our Friday routine. We merged the need for date night with the reality of our growing family and turned Friday into family night.
Fast forward 3 months, we still spend our Friday nights at the supermarket, tasting new foods, picking up a box of popcorn (and a 6-pack), and renting a movie for after our daughter falls asleep. It’s certainly a change from the days sans kids (I mean, let’s be honest; we spend Friday nights at the grocery store). But it’s special for us and something the three of us look forward to. It’s much different with a little one now, but it’s different in a good way.
It’s the new normal; and it’s perfect.
About Ashley
Ashley is a self-proclaimed fashionista, social media maven, and proud new mama. Together with her husband, they welcomed their first child last August. They also have a fur-baby named Peak, an 80-lb. yellow lab whom they adopted during a ski trip in Denver. She is the Social Media Manager at Step2 and you may have recently communicated with her if you’ve chatted with Step2 on Facebook or Twitter.