Why Hipster (Parents) Need Date Nights, Too

Ethan and I decided last week to make regular date nights a priority (which really means that we're going to attempt to make regular date nights a priority and probably fail miserably but perhaps a little less than we've been failing up until now). We were both pretty tired (read: zombie-eque) on Saturday night, but our lovely babysitter arrived and we rallied to go see Les Miserables, which is a particular favorite of ours (I mean, that whole "I stole a loaf of bread and now I am on the run FOREVER" thing is kinda sexy, no?) The movie turned out to be pretty much just okay (still see it, though; Anne Hathaway really is the bomb) and we were too tired afterwards to grab dinner, but at least we took the time to go... right?

Before we had a kid, I admittedly rolled my eyes at the mere mention of a "date night" — it seemed like something you didn't have to consciously think about, like wouldn't you just naturally go out often enough with your other half, and wouldn't planning it just seem I don't know, lame or at least a little bit mid-life crisis-y? Not to mention the fact that the recent Tina Fey/Steve Carrell flick with the aforementioned title is about "a bored married couple" who are so dull and sick of each other that it takes getting kidnapped and nearly shot to put the romance back in their relationship. Yikes. It's easy to see why the idea of a "date night" made me want to poke my eyes out. But clearly, this assumption of mine was pre-baby, and clearly, I now see the massive error of my ways.

Um, yeah. I get it. With wee ones at home, you need a babysitter to go on a date night. You have to actually email or text that babysitter ahead of time if you want the evening to materialize. And, yes, the cost of the date like, doubles and yes, you're probably so tired that you wonder why you're even making the effort when you could sit on your couch in a Slanket watching Homeland (side note: that's a perfectly respectable date night in itself). But going out is probably "important" and "a good thing to do" to "make sure you don't forget why you married your spouse in the first place." (Note the air quotes).

A New York Times article on the topic (which makes me feel this much closer to middle age than ever), says that you need to inject novelty into your date night to really see results — whatever those are. But the idea of "injecting novelty" — which I assume means something actually fun but so cliched you can't bring yourself to do it, like salsa dancing — into our marriage definitely makes me want to stab myself in the eyes after poking them, so I think we'll just stick to movies, dinner and the like. I mean, how old are we, anyway? Do we really need to go make clay pots together to be happy? Please say no.

Have you mastered the date night? Are you and your spouse one of those couples who even has a designated night for date night? (I've heard such couples exist, though it may be urban legend). Tell me! I need inspiration.

xo,

Rebecca

Oh, a PS: I won't speak for Ethan, but I am not a hipster, as much as I might wish I were a character on Girls. If you are a hipster, though, and you have kids, you can go on a date night. I am officially making it okay.