Saturday was one of those 14-hour stretches of time during which there wasn’t a second to sit down and enjoy the fact that there was no work - only play. Adult play isn’t as fun, though, considering our whole morning was eaten up by a car appointment, errands and an orthodontist visit that left my front teeth so sore that I was unable to chew marzipan.

Of course, that is also the day that I had lined up a babysitter so that Constance and I could go to the movies, by ourselves, for the first time in seven months. My friend, Orion, a father of two, came over to take the tyke while we attended Where the Wild Things Are. Nola was asleep when we left and when she woke up, she was none to thrilled to find a shorter, scrawnier bearded man in charge.

The great part about it, though, was that it was Orion’s problem - not mine. It sounds bad, but I didn’t really worry about anything for the 2-1/2 hours we struck out on our own. Yes, she cried for a while until Orion took her for a walk in the Bjorn, but I knew the whole time that I was gone that whatever her behavior would be in our absence would be good for her in the long run. Since I’m home with her every day, she doesn’t get a lot of one-on-one time with folks not named Matt or Constance and, frankly, it’s healthy for all of us to learn how to be apart.

Tomorrow, Nola is being watched by our doula/friend, Holly, while I suffer through a day of meetings. And this upcoming Sunday we are headed out to the Eagles game at Soldier Field during which time our dear friend, Heather, and her Canadian beau will take over parenting duties for the night. It’s nice to get out again, however briefly, as a couple. Whether it’s to see a depressing children’s movie that made me feel like someone had slipped acid into my $5 Cherry Coke or to see my favorite team play football, leaving without Nola makes coming home to Nola a vivid reminder of why we worked so hard to get Nola in the first place.

Perhaps 2010 will prove time to defrost one of those frozen embryos …

Filed under: Firsts, Husband & Wife