Chronicles of Chaos

April 22, 2009 | Print

Friday Night Out

It’s Friday and I’m dreading the weekend. Without school, we’ve got all kids all day. I’m exhausted from a week of stuff I can’t remember anymore. Bedtime already looms ahead, putting the kids down for what feels like the umpteenth time in a row.

I pick up Wyatt from kindergarten and we drive to get Oliver from his school. Wyatt happily eats the lunch I’ve packed, he’s especially pleased with the surprise animal cookies. As we pass the little movie theater in town, I crane my neck to read the marquee. I do this every Friday when the movies change–if I like the new movie, the day feels brighter. Small thrills.

Today, I’m startled to discover a movie I’ve really been wanting to see is playing.

I latch on to the sensation of sitting in a dark theater eating popcorn. Then I think, why not tonight? With Wyatt focused on his sandwich in the backseat, I grab my phone and call a sitter. I leave a message. I’m too excited to wait, so I call another sitter. She’s not available. I only have two sitter options so I say a prayer and wait.

The phone rings. The first sitter is available, she’ll come at five. I calculate a survivable four hours from now, and I’m revived. I tell Michael my plan, he thinks I’m a genius.

The kids and I hang out for the rest of the afternoon. We laugh, I’m patient when they fight, the dog chewing Amelia’s jump rope barely annoys me.

The sitter arrives and Michael and I leave for the movie. We sit in the dark theater eating popcorn–it’s just like I imagined. Afterward we walk around town, stop at a restaurant we never go to and split a burrito. We sit outside people watching for awhile, then head back to the car.

We’re home by nine. It’s as if we’ve had a weekend away–something about the spontaneity, the warm night, and the unexpected break. My shift in perspective is slight and huge at the same time.

I fall asleep looking forward to Saturday.

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