It didn't start out to be date night. In fact, I'm not sure I could tell your exactly when or how it started. I think it was the natural progression of my having cooked all week and on Friday saying, "Enough is enough. I need a break." We started going to a little local Chinese restaurant and getting take-out. We took our dog (Hallie, who died last October at fourteen) because it was a treat for her to have a ride in the car. Hallie LOVED this, and the fortune cookies brought out to the car by Wendy, one of the owners of the restaurant, became "Wendy biscuits."
We started watching movies while we ate our take-out, sitting on the floor at the coffee table in our living room. Another dog came along, Neela, and both dogs learned when it was Friday night. They'd start to get antsy, then when I called in the order they would be beside themselves with excitement, jumping at the door and their leashes.
Eventually, we switched to our local Pei Wei for our Friday night dinners, as they stayed open later than the family-owned restaurant and Wendy, now a mom, no longer came to work on Friday nights.
Time moved on. The color TV in the living room cabinet became a flat screen with surround sound. A new dog, Dax, has learned when it's Friday night, and that Wendy Biscuits are a greatly anticipated treat. All the staff at Pei Wei know we want a few extra fortune cookies in our bag.
Convenience became ritual, much looked forward to by both two-legged and four-legged creatures. We still sit on the living room floor and eat on the coffee table. And fire weather is coming up, which makes it even better!
We do make exceptions, but it has to be something really good to oust the Friday Night Movie from our routine.
So, REDS, is there a special ritual in your week?
HALLIE EPHRON: Debs, love your ritual. We don't have a date night, but we used to. After we had our first baby, and for years after, we hired a baby sitter every Thursday night and, whether we felt like it or not, we went out. That was because we were so exhausted from spelling each other, taking care of the kids and the house that we needed a time when we could just be the two of us together, even if it was for two hours and all we did was go to the library.
HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: We DO! And I can't believe I'm telling you this, but--
It's Friday night, and we go out to dinner together no matter what.
At first, our usual restaurant was a place called Duckworth Lane, so we used to signal each other about going there by saying "quack quack." With the appropriate hand signals.
(I know, silly..)
Duckworth closed, but our name remained. So we call our Friday night dinner "quacking." As in--yay, almost time to quack! And martinis are part of the ritual, even though I can only handle a few sips now. And yes, one can "quack" at home.
DEBS: Hank, I absolutely LOVE your "quack." And I'm glad to know that other people are as goofy as we are... Hallie, maybe you could take date night up again?
Readers, is there a date night, or family night, or for those who are single, a special "just for you" night in your routine?
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