A Moment of Peace and Quiet
11:29 AM"Your life will never be the same again, the moment your baby arrives."
I know that having a child is going to be different, but it is not what I expected. Taking care of Rafa 24/7 ever since he was born has literally turned my world upside down -- consuming all my energy, patience, and sanity.
Being a hands-on mom is not as easy as what everyone else thinks, especially if you don't have "help" readily available. Sometimes, I would feel overwhelmed by my role as a stay-at-home mom -- doing all the chores while looking after a toddler who loves throwing temper tantrums at any time of day is exhausting. (Hay, terrible two's!) Motherhood is exhausting.
It is during these times when I wish we could have just hired a nanny or perhaps we could have just lived in the Philippines so I could ask my parents to look after Rafa whenever I feel everything that's going on is just too much for me to handle. Don't get me wrong. I am not complaining. What I'm just trying to say is that mothers are humans, who need a break, too! And by the word BREAK, I mean some downtime -- a moment of peace and quiet to recharge (we need it to keep our sanity). It could be in a form of a 15-minute uninterrupted shower, a 30-minute nap, an hour of a badly needed whole body massage, or in my case, a two-hour date night with hubby.
I honestly missed going on a date night with Ronnie. In fact, I've been constantly bugging him to take me out because we hardly get the chance to have some quality time together. Sad, isn't it? But that's the harsh truth about marriage after having a kid(s). The demands of parenthood would always take precedence over your own personal needs. So no matter how much my husband and I want to go on a date, our situation of not having a nanny, who can look after our son while we're away, just makes date nights a bit difficult to achieve.
Good thing my sister volunteered to watch over Rafa, so that Ronnie and I can have a few hours all by ourselves to celebrate Valentine's day, two days after the 14th day of February. Finally, a date night! (Which translates to a few hours of peaceful and relaxing time together -- free from all the demands of a crying/screaming toddler.) I know, our celebration of heart's day is kinda late already. But as they say, it's better late than never!
Oh, how I missed eating a scrumptious meal without being in a hurry or interrupted by a little human being! I know, my husband has the same sentiments too. (It's very seldom that we get the chance to eat together during meal times because one of us has to supervise Rafa.) That's why we decided to just spend the night, savoring every bite of our favorite dishes in one of our most favorite Chinese restaurants, PF CHANGS!
Anyway, here's what we ordered:
Wonton Soup. Wontons, mushrooms, fresh bok choy, water chestnuts, chicken and shrimp in savory chicken broth.
Dynamite Shrimp. Crispy shrimp tossed in a hot and spicy sauce on a bed of iceberg lettuce.
Sweet and Sour Chicken. Tender chicken stir-fried with pineapple, bell peppers, onion, and candied ginger.
Tim Hortons' Red Velvet and Cookies and Cream Frappe.
After a satisfying dinner, we went next to Tim Hortons for some frappe. I love non-caffeinated frappes! Again, this was another thing I really missed doing! My husband and I were actually laughing when we realized the last time we did this was when I was still pregnant with Rafa, which was almost 2.5 years ago! Imagine that!
It was a night of delicious food and good laughs, leaving my heart and my tummy really happy! I obviously missed dating my husband, but I also missed Rafa during those times that he's not with us. I was like worrying all the time if he's ok or if he's already crying looking for his mommy. #mommyproblems So after two hours, we decided to come back for him. (My sister also sent us an SMS asking for help because my son was already starting to unleash the monster in him, lol!) It was still a great night though!
While I may have felt guilty for leaving my son behind to give my husband a few hours of my undivided attention, I must admit that I also enjoyed a short break from living a child-centric family life. Sharing quality time together as a couple is indeed very important in building a strong and happy marriage -- it helped us breathe from the demands of parenthood and allowed us to reconnect as lovers at the same time.
I know that being consistent with this date night thing would be a challenge for us (considering our current situation of not having a nanny), but I am hoping we'll be able to work things out for a happy marriage and an even happier family life!
"The greatest gift parents can give their children is a happy marriage."
P.S. Looking forward to more date nights with you, my love!
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