An Impromptu Slice

I thought I knew how my evening would go, as my evenings are usually just variations on a theme. I would leave work, pick up my son, Jack, and then drive across town to pick up my son, Jared, from track practice. We would then head home, and I would fix dinner while simultaneously trying frantically to meet the 9:00 p.m. deadline for posting.

That's how it was supposed to go anyway. Then I got a text from my husband telling me that Jared hadn't found a ride, so he was going to leave work to take Jared to his track practice at 3:00. Jokingly, I texted back that since it was so late, there really wasn't any reason for him to go back to work.  The only response I got was a "Hmmm. . . ." I figured that meant he thought that was a good idea but was going back to work anyway, so I left work and headed to Jack's school as I had planned. To my surprise, as I pulled into the parking lot, I heard again from my husband. He was home!

Usually, my husband doesn't get home until 6:30 or later. Some nights, after picking up Jared from practice, I'm just rolling in around that time, too. Everyone being home before 5:00 felt like nothing short of a miracle. I decided to take advantage of this rare occasion of everyone being home early and suggested we go out to dinner. Strangely enough, this seemed to raise some suspicions, probably because I am not known to be particularly spontaneous, but everyone played along. After waiting for what seemed a ridiculous amount of time for the hostess to simply appear at Red Robin, we were seated.

In a way, it felt like a celebration. We all sat around the table, talking and laughing, free from the distraction of phones, computer screens, and television sets. Although we talked about our days, the stresses and hassles that might have occurred lost their potency. We felt relaxed and content, feelings that have been in short supply for quite some time.

It was a glorious way to end the day:  together and focused on each other.