It wasn't really about the meal

After being married for almost 4 years my husband and I have fallen into somewhat of a routine. We are both schedule and planning people.  We get ready for bed the same way every night. Tim grabs the toothbrushes, I get the tooth paste, he rinses first and starts mouth washing, while I take my pills, then I use the mouth wash, we use the bathroom (Tim first), I check on Oliver, Tim locks the doors, turns on the TV and sets the sleep, I meet him in bed, but my hair in a binder, ask him if he locked both of the doors, we kiss and Tim rolls over.  Every night.  Seriously.  We have many of these daily routines. I think we may have gotten more rigid with them since the kids were born. Kids thrive on routines.  Also, I think it's my way of knowing that I brushed my teeth in the craziness of motherhood.   

With all of this predictability I feel like my life is sometimes the same thing, different day.  So when I woke up on Sunday I was surprised to hear some excitement in Tim's voice saying "I'm gonna make dinner tonight".  My first thought was, what about the dinner we had planned on the weekly menu? He had already been up for a couple hours planning this dinner so his dinner it was (he gets up with Oliver in the morning because I get the middle of the night wakings).  He found a recipe for Baked Ziti, and was really excited about it.  I reminded him that I work 12-6pm and he will have both kids while he is trying to make dinner. He had a plan.  So we made a special trip to Target to get all of the ingredients (he always does the grocery shopping with Amelia, while I take Oliver to get the non-food items and we meet in the toy department).  $35 dollars later he has 4-5 different types of cheese, pasta, kosher salt, and various spices.  We could have gone out to eat for $35 dollars.  We got home and unpacked the groceries.  Tim was going to start the prep work while I was home to help.  He even got out the blender to make the tomato sauce.  He got as much ready as he could before I had to go to work.  His plan was to make the rest while Oliver napped.  

His dinner was on my mind all day at work. I was actually nervous for him.  It's hard making a bowl of cereal with a my children, let alone a homemade dinner.  I prepped myself to be really excited about his dinner. What if I didn't like it? What if he was super stressed from trying to pull this off ? I didn't know what I would be coming home to.  I nervously  open the door. The house was quiet, calm and smelled great.  Tim had a huge, proud smile on his face.  He pulled it off. Dinner was fantastic!  He even left out the onions for me. 

Looking back on it, it wasn't about the meal.  I was just happy to see the excitement in Tim's face again.  Heck, I'll take on a second job to fund Tim's culinary experiments if that means I get to see that look every time he's successful.  This dinner helped me to realize that we, as a couple, need a break from the same old things once in a while. I think I'll give Grandma a call.