Table for two

On Saturday Jennifer and I were able to go out for a night without Kyle, and this time we didn't accidentally forget him at home. The little guy was with my parents, who were visiting for the weekend. Jennifer and I often look forward to these stays, since it's really the only time we ever get out on our own. We have yet to find a babysitter for the little guy, partly because of his very young age, and partly because we're afraid that our babysitter would turn out to be some British freak who flies around with an umbrella and sings about sugar all day. There are a lot of crazies out there, and we want to make sure Kyle isn't stuck with one of them. So, for now, my parents are our only lifeline.

It's not that our social life completely died with Kyle's birth; it just ends when the night begins for most people. Kyle can be a party animal at times, but his hibernation starts at eight o'clock. You can't blame him - he's busy at 6 a.m. every morning, working a grueling job as an alarm clock. He needs his rest, though his early evening shut-eye can be a bit of a problem for dear ol' Mom and Dad. We try to attend as many social gatherings as possible, but we often have to make an early exit. Sadly, we've also turned down many invitations to events that begin after 7 p.m. The Jennifer and Dave of two years ago (before the pregnancy) would have been so disappointed in us.

So nights like Saturday night are a special treat. Jennifer and I kicked things off by going to one of those fancy Italian restaurants that don't leave enough room between tables for a high chair and don't serve any drinks out of a sippy cup. We even ordered dessert without having to feel brave about doing so. It was like we were 29 all over again. Then we went to a local bar that had an outside area where we could sit back under a tree, enjoy a pint and watch the rats play boccie. Most places in our neighborhood - even bars - are welcoming to children, but there were no babies in the establishment we visited Saturday night. That's because this bar was hard-core anti-baby: it actually had a sign on its entrance that said "No Strollers Allowed." I'm not kidding. When they check your ID, they also do a full-body search to make sure you're not hiding an infant under your coat or in your shoes. When we made it past that, we really did feel like a young couple again. After a pint there, we decided to live it up a little more, stopping by at an neighborhood Irish pub before heading home.

We had such a great time that night. We laughed, we had great conversations, and we had no time limits. We were free to roam wherever we wanted to without a care in the world. We just felt young again. When we came home, my parents told us that they, too, had a wonderful night with Kyle. That made us feel even better. But then my mom said, "I thought you two were going to be out much later." We looked at the clock in it was just past 11 p.m. I yawned and Jennifer said she was going to get ready for bed. We had been up since 6 a.m., after all... and we were very tired. We just needed to get some sleep and were in bed shortly after midnight.

The Jennifer and Dave of two years ago would have been so disappointed in us.