Had a long overdue date night with my husband last night. We went to RedRock on Lake Hefner and followed that up with the final Harry Potter movie- since nothing says romance like 2 hours of big screen wizard mania. After almost 10 years together (10 as of Halloween'ish time this year!), 8 of which were spent with just the two of us, it's amazing to me how an evening out with JUST the two of us now seems so refreshing and new all over again. But most things haven't changed much (except now we talk a lot about our kids- big surprise!).
We both order beer- something light and Mexican for Taylor and something dark and European for me. I order something healthy to eat, and then eat a lot of his order off of his plate. We went back and forth over his decision to order enchiladas. Should he order the standard 2, or for an extra buck order 3 and give me the third one? No, I said, I'm trying to be good. I don't need a whole enchilada on top of my fish and vegetable meal. I just want a bite of yours. Just a bite.
He was skeptical and laid down the law.
"Ok, if I order 2 enchiladas and you have a bite- you get one bite. I don't want to get stuck with half an enchilada when I could have just ordered a third one and gotten two whole ones for myself."
It sounds a little greedy, I know. I mean, we're married. His enchilada is my enchilada. But he's right. He knows me too well. I would've eaten most of the second one if he hadn't been so adamant about making sure he drew a line in the sand. So I made sure to make my one bite huge in the middle of a really heated conversation, when he wasn't really paying any attention and I knew I could get away with it. Those kinds of sneaky bites taste better than others. Try it sometime.
We joked around. Gossiped. Discussed family, work, current events- arguing politics, yet still finding middle ground to agree on: politicians all suck. I told him about a dream I had the night before, involving Sarah Palin (whom I can not stand BTW) coming to our house to have coffee with me and then later making out with my husband on our couch. Taylor got a laugh out of that, but I'm still haunted and mildly disturbed by it.
We find other people in the restaurant to hone in on and discuss what they are wearing if it's something unusual or strange, what they are talking about if we are so lucky as to pick up on pieces of an extra loud conversation, speculating on strangers as if we are in a zoo studying wild animals... whatever.
We find other people in the restaurant to hone in on and discuss what they are wearing if it's something unusual or strange, what they are talking about if we are so lucky as to pick up on pieces of an extra loud conversation, speculating on strangers as if we are in a zoo studying wild animals... whatever.
We complained to each other about how long it took to get our beers and how irritating it is when the manager of a restaurant comes to your table and puts words in your mouth, "Was everything EXCELLENT tonight?" Seriously. What if it was just OK? Or mediocre? Excellent is a big check to write. But we're both polite so we just said, "Yes!" and discussed the situation amongst ourselves when the manager walked away.
He teased me for turning into a lightweight after my 2 Guinness drafts. I reminded him that I could probably still drink the bar but choose not to do so because I'm a responsible mother now, and he agreed which made me feel good.
The drive to the movies was funny. We banter each other- we're one of THOSE couples- but it's all in good humor, that is until we get carried away. This is when he says something douchey and I get up in arms about it.
Thankfully, we've learned that this is just part of our dynamic and we bounce back to normal without batting an eye and are back to holding hands on the walk through the parking lot to the theater. It doesn't take more than someone wearing a stupid looking outfit or article of clothing to get us back on the same page. Yes, I guess you could say we are assholes like that, but come on. You know you do it too.
In the theater we get a Sprite so big that we will never finish it and I get popcorn that I don't really need but buy because I have a weakness for it. Taylor grumbles about the price of concessions as I make a salt bomb in a napkin and put it in my purse so that when the popcorn bag is half empty, I can resalt it and make it delicious again- something Taylor also teases me about, but secretly thinks is adorable.
We make fun of the trailers and play movie critic and commentators, judging each preview as if we can tell if the movie will suck after only a couple of minutes of footage. A sequel to Sherlock Holmes? Really? THUMBS DOWN. Did anyone even watch the first one? We watched about 45 minutes of it on Netflix and turned it off.
We make fun of the trailers and play movie critic and commentators, judging each preview as if we can tell if the movie will suck after only a couple of minutes of footage. A sequel to Sherlock Holmes? Really? THUMBS DOWN. Did anyone even watch the first one? We watched about 45 minutes of it on Netflix and turned it off.
I geeked out after a teaser trailer for the next Dark Knight and made him swear on his life to take me to see it on opening day next year. Mega crush on Christian Bale reignited.
Harry Potter was PHENOMENAL. I've been dying to see it. Taylor still hasn't forgiven me for making him sit through the last one, which was about an hour too long and super boring. After looking around at the people in the theater, I could tell that a lot of other couples consisted of wives/girlfriends who had dragged their hesitant boyfriends/husbands to see this final Potter flick after making them endure the last one. This one made up for the last though- super dark, with lots of wizard battling and action abounding.
7 books, 8 movies later- it all came down to this film. It was orchestrated beautifully. Bravo David Yates- Bravo! Applause all around. When the final credits started, a couple of people started clapping, only for a second before it flittered away into nothing after more people didn't join in. I guess it's not cool to clap at the end of a wizard movie, but in my head I was clapping too.
7 books, 8 movies later- it all came down to this film. It was orchestrated beautifully. Bravo David Yates- Bravo! Applause all around. When the final credits started, a couple of people started clapping, only for a second before it flittered away into nothing after more people didn't join in. I guess it's not cool to clap at the end of a wizard movie, but in my head I was clapping too.
(BTW, I'm an avid reader, but I haven't read any of the books. I'll admit to having gone to Barnes and Noble to read the last chapter of the last book when it came out a couple years ago so I could see if Harry Potter dies at the end. Sitting on the floor in the book aisle, surrounded by kids and adults alike who were anxious to pick up their copies, I speed read the final pages, got my closure, got up and left)
I've been making Taylor take me to see these Harry Potter movies since the beginning- literally, as a new couple who had just started dating, when the first one came out in 2001, till last night... now, married with two little ones at home.
It's the end of an era! The ending of the movie, the epilogue, was bittersweet. It's super nerdy to say that- it really is- but it's true. Watching Harry and Hermoine and Ron, in a scene set 19 years down the road, send their kids off to Hogwarts reminded me that I have my own little ones at home now.
The irony of what has come full circle is pure magic to me!
