Dinner and A Show

Last night hubby and I went out on a date. My parents have seasons tickets to a local theater and always receive two free tickets for friends or family each season. Hubby and I had seasons tickets when we were dating and students so it was ridiculously cheap. I think that's one of the reasons why my mom offers her free tickets to us. Anyhow, we went to dinner first at my favorite Persian restaurant. I usually get to go maybe once a year because it's pretty out of the way and not everyone is a fan of Persian food. Then we went to the Centaur and watched The Game of Love and Chance. It was funny! A witty, back-and-forth-don't-miss-a-beat comedy. It was also physical comedy, which sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. It worked this time. It also helped that I was sitting next to my dad who enjoys a good laugh. A couple of times I noticed the couple in front of us look at each other and smile when my dad laughed out loud. He's one of those people who's laugh inspires laughter from those around him... he makes it funnier than it probably is. I was also happy because hubby enjoyed himself; you always take a risk going to the theater because you don't know how it's going to turn out. Even a play that is promoted as a comedy won't always make you laugh. We lucked out. Thankfully we had our friend AD come and babysit (for free!) from 4pm to 11:30pm: God bless her! 

You know, people always tell hubby and I that we need to have date nights and take care of our relationship. I fully agree. The problem is life gets in the way and before you know it it's been a month since you've been alone together outside of the house. So far we've been averaging once a month. We could probably do with a bit more;  I think we're both realizing we need to put in more of an effort to spend quality time together and to keep our intimacy intact and how important it is to our relationship.

Dear Reflection in the Mirror,

Ours is a love-hate relationship. I can't imagine seeing anyone else's face staring back at me but at the same time there is so much I would change. I try not to think that way because I've already had the experience of looking at past photos of myself and wishing I had appreciated what was there at the time. 

But my hips are a little rounder, my belly much softer with ragged stretch marks, my hair a little greyer... Sometimes it feels like I don't recognize myself anymore. I can still see my former self half-hidden and truthfully, I mourn that woman. How did she disappear so fast?? I'm pretty sure the relationship with my physical reflection will always be fraught with difficulty. I can handle that.

When I look into the mirror and focus not on my physical attributes but rather on myself as a person, taking stock of who I have been come so far, I'm pleased. Sure, there are things I wonder if I should have done differently but overall I think my journey is going well. I know I'm doing the best I can and that I try to be a better person, try to correct past mistakes, try to make better decisions, try to be more compassionate... At the end of the day if this was the moment God chose to take me home, I would be ready (in the sense that I wouldn't need time to "set my affairs in order"). I don't say that to brag. I just feel at peace with who I am.

Reflection, you're doing all right.

Melissa