Date Night

Julie and I were powering our way through Winco tonight absent any of our children when we ran into a friend. We joked it was our date night. The truth is that the kids were out in the van in the parking lot -- Brenton had the keys and he was in charge -- and we were "alone" in the store. I'm not sure if going grocery shopping qualifies as a date, but we've done it plenty of times. In Gloucester we usually hit the Super Wal-Mart for a big night out on the town. You know, really do it up. Since we've hit the teenagers stage, it's been nice to get away on dinner dates, but sometimes we go all practical and get away, escape, make a night of it, or whatever, to the grocery aisle. There's something therapeutic about chatting about the vagaries of life and parenting and suddenly blurting out, "Babe, check it out! Buy one Chocolate Moose Tracks and get one free! Scooooorrrrrreeee!"

Look at this way, at least we can talk without having food in our mouths. And it satisfies that inner manly `hunter and gatherer' desire of mine that every man possesses, if he's really honest with himself. I mean here I am, taking my bride into the grocery jungle and emerging victorious with enough grub to feed our small tribe! And best of all, I did all this while satiating my wife's desire to talk! I hunt and gather and she talks ... ingenious, yes. I think that's known as a "two-fer-one" deal. So let me raise this bowl of ice cream as a toast to the beauty of the "Grocery Shopping Date Night."