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Date Night

When Number One Son was about four, he asked me to go on a date with him.  To say I was pleasantly surprised would be an understatement.  I thought he was perhaps the most handsome thing I had ever seen, the spitting image of his daddy.  As he looked up at me with those big brown eyes, I said, "Absolutely, I would be honored!"   He grinned and went back to playing.

Date night came and his daddy helped him get all dressed up.  He was very concerned about how he was going to pay and insisted I give him the money.  So, I did.  I asked if he was going to drive, and he enthusiastically agreed.  I had to then inform him that the State of Texas might frown upon that, but he could open my door like a gentleman. 

His daddy helped strap him into his carseat, and my date and I got on the road.  Having recently discovered Olive Garden spaghetti, he decided we should go there.  We entered the restaurant and he went to the hostess stand and told them there would be two of us.  I stood behind and confirmed by shaking my head.

He proudly tried helping me into my seat at the table.  It was a good thing the chairs rolled.  He then climbed up into his booster seat in his chair.  We talked and laughed and ate spaghetti and when it was time for the check he was not bashful about letting the waiter know that HE was paying.  It was certainly one of the most memorable dates of my lifetime.

Fast-forward to tonight.  Number One Son and I have gone a few Mama-Son dates over the years, but it has been a while since our last one.  Tonight Little Sunshine had a friend's birthday party to go to and El Hubbo had an invitation to join his sister at another dinner, so Number One Son and I decided to make a date night for us. 

We've been fairly busy, so we hadn't really formalized a plan.  But, in the middle of the day I got a text, "I was thinking somewhere fast for dinner then b&n." 

If ever I needed proof that this is my son, this text would be it.  He inherited his addiction to reading from me, there is absolutely no denying it. 

I picked him up, we dropped off his sister, and we headed to grab a quick bite at Cane's Chicken.  We scored a really good parking space at Barnes & Noble, and we spent the next hour and a half perusing the shelves and settling into chairs to read.  For that one hour and a half we'd chat and talk about our books.  He'd tell me what books needed to be added to his Christmas list.  We'd laugh and joke and I would think back to that little boy who asked me on a date almost 10 years ago. 

Our date nights have evolved from a shared love of pasta to include a shared love of books......I just hope he'll never outgrow wanting to have date night with his mama.

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