the optimistic duke: Anniversary Dinner Take 2

So I mentioned here that Dennis and I had big plans to go out to dinner to celebrate our anniversary on our actual anniversary. It’s always the best laid plans that implode, right? Tuesday night there is a golf league and Dennis is an alternate on a team and never really knows for sure if he’s going to play or not. He mentioned a few days before our anniversary that he probably shouldn’t play if asked on Tuesday so it doesn’t mess with our dinner plans, and I, being the ever intelligent golfer {insert all the sarcasm} told him we would totally have time to have a relaxing/celebratory/date night dinner AFTER golf.

Throw in a really rough night sleep {Monday night}, a long day at work {Tuesday} and an average-length golf game {2.5 hours} and there I was, sitting outside the golf course waiting for Dennis at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday night, on the verge of an emotional breakdown and/or anxiety attack because oh my goodness was I mentally drained. I wanted to go. to. bed. I also wanted a really nice relaxing dinner with my husband, delicious food, and copious amounts of Pinot Noir. I wanted all of these things and I wanted to be in bed by 9:30 and sleep for 8 hours straight {maybe 10}. Totally reasonable, right?

Anyway, I faked it the best I could and we made our way to the restaurant to find that {Halleluiah!} they close at 9 p.m. By that point it was 8:45 and I was absolutely not going to be those people that come in and eat/drink leisurely for 1-2 hours 10 minutes before closing time. We then did some quick thinking, ran through a drive-thru, picked up ice cream, and headed home. I could hardly contain my glee that I might in fact get to bed at a decent hour and we could reclaim our date night the following night. {It’s worth noting that someone must’ve tipped Duke off that mama needed some sleep because he only woke up once at 3:30 a.m. that night}

Wednesday rolled around, work was great and I got to sneak in some baby snuggles + lunch with my dad + husband + neighbor on my lunch hour {I love small town livin and 0 traffic!!!} and I was in an excellent mood when I got home at 5. I changed clothes, had a glass of wine, and relaxed until Dennis got done with a project and was ready to go to dinner.

I got my ~~gallon~~ glass of Pinot Noir, we had excellent food and even better conversation and I am so thankful we got to give our anniversary the attention it deserved! It’s been far too easy to let things slip by during this huge time of transition for us, even fun things that I would normally put a lot of energy into, and I’m anxious for us to get back to a semi-normal routine. Tonight we plan on checking out the Shakespeare festival in town and I’m excited to experience it for the first time! Here's hoping it's not 105 degrees...