Absense makes the heart grow fonder

This weekend Adam and I celebrated our 4th anniversary. We set up a babysitter for the night, got a hotel room in the city, dined at fancy establishments…had an evening of complete adult enjoyment. In the Wiener household, dinner typically consists of wolfing down the food while balancing to make sure Drew has a new enticing bite in front of him at all times, yet not too much that he can choke. Saturday we sat back, took in the scenery, patiently sipped our wine, leisurely ate our decadent meals and spent the whole evening ultimately wishing we were in the confines of our own kitchen. Don’t get me wrong, we enjoyed the food, the atmosphere and mostly spending time with each other. However, we missed the main attraction. It made me realize, yet again, how I will never be the same after having a baby. I will always miss the parts of my life that I gave up by having a baby (i.e. going out without a second thought, relaxed dinners at restaurants, sleeping late, etc) but I will never be able to enjoy anything as much without Drew. As stressful as it may be when he is crabby, everything is more enjoyable with his little face there. The next day we met him (and my parents) at Kohl’s Children’s Museum. I found my happy place at that moment. The moment I saw the happiness that he had for exploring and playing in a child friendly zone. I saw the thrill as he splashed the water, pounded on the play computer, made music with the drums. I looked over at my husband of four years and saw that he too found his happy place. I then realized that I had replaced going out, relaxed dinners, sleeping late with days at children’s museums, zoos and pools. I hadn’t given up anything but instead I gained. I gained an opportunity to be spend time with a little man that makes me the happiest person in the world (and the big man that I get to share it all with).