When my husband and I were first dating we would meet up each Friday night at a different restaurant in Los Angeles. At the time, we were unencumbered by childcare costs and/or mortgage payments and so we could afford to splurge on some pretty nice dinners. Each week, one of us would do extensive research before making a reservation.
We'd meet up for a cocktail before dinner and talk for an hour or so about the restaurant choice. Upon arrival, we would discuss the menu in detail before ordering. When the food was served, we'd pass our plates back and forth as we discussed the merits and missteps of each dish. After the date, we'd head out, holding hands as we lovingly revisited the meal, course by course, while strolling towards the car.
At some point, about 6 months into our relationship, I turned to David with true concern and said:
"I'm worried that our relationship is 90% based on talking about food."
He pointed out that many couples he could name made it work on less, and we set a wedding date.
Since then, the arrival of ze Snood has put a serious hurting on date nights. These days we eat mostly at home. The first year plus of marriage has reveled a whole new side of our eating selves. For example, David has had to work double time to keep track of the long list of food rules I adhere to, which includes:
- No raisins in anything. Ever.
- No cold foot that could be served hot (i.e. shrimp on ice)
- No "surprise cruch" (i.e. chicken salad with large hunks of celery)
- No condiments (this includes ketchup, mustard, relish and hot sauce)
David, on the other hand, is basically the human equivalent of a goat.
He will head to the fridge and open a tupperware container of dubious origin any night of the week and give it's contents a whirl. While I have never actually seen him devour a tin can, let's just say I'm not putting anything past him.
So it's been interesting to start introducing Snoodie to solid food. So far, I think he takes after his dad. It started with rice cereal, which he devoured with gusto. We moved onto fruits and veggies, which he ate with glee (brief product endorsement: the BEABA babyfood maker is awesome - I never would have imagined myself as a "make your own babyfood" type but I am a convert!).
And now, as he approaches his first birthday Snood is eating it all. It's a feeding frenzy in my dining room. I am beginning to give serious though to simply sitting Snood in a high-chair, putting a bowl a food in front of him and then turning on a high-powered fan and blowing the food in his general direction. I am almost certain this system would result in more food consumption and less mess than we are currently experiencing.
We've even starting heading out for date nights again!
Gone are the fancy reservations and the five courses. These days we specialize in dinner at 5:30pm. As we have a maniac in a high chair along for the ride, our dining choices are limited to loud restaurants with friendly servers and we tend to order more burgers than filets, but still we're getting out and firming up the very core of our relationship, our first true love, the thing that made it all happen for us...
...FOOD!
