The Hot, Hot Date

"Feel like going out tonight?" I asked my husband at supper time. "You know, we could put the kids to bed early and ask your sister to come and babysit."

"Absolutely!" Ben replied as he picked up the phone.

"Whoa, wait a minute! We need a plan first," I protested. I wiped sticky apple sauce from Baby Girl's chin and spooned more beans onto my son's plate. "We can't just call up a babysitter without knowing what we're doing."

"Okay ... any ideas?"

"Umm, well, umm, I don't know." I thoughtfully chewed my meat for a few seconds. "What do you want to do?" (Dodge.)

"Maybe a movie?" Ben suggested.

"Nah, it's the middle of February. There's nothing good out right now." I used my napkin to wipe a sticky spot off the table.

"Okay, anything else?"

"Oh well, umm, I don't really have any other ideas. Just a sec..." I caught my toddler's milk cup moments before he turned it upside-down. Baby Girl finished eating and my four-year-old started to fidget.

"Wash me off, Mommy!" he demanded.

I fetched a wash cloth, scrubbed down the kids, cleared the table, put away leftovers, loaded the dishwasher, wiped the counters, picked up tinkertoys, and read my toddler a story. Suddenly it was seven-thirty.

"Time for baths!" I announced.

"Honey ... didn't you want me to find a babysitter?" Ben gently prodded.

"Oh, yeah, ummm, I kind of forgot," I said sheepishly, "Maybe we should just stay home..."

...................

Let me tell you, it has been a hot Saturday night in the Inkster household. I finally caught up on my ironing and mending. Ben's been reading a riveting document entitled Asterisk: The Future of Telephony. I plan to give my husband a snazzy haircut before the night is through.

What else is there to do at home on a frosty February night? Maybe Ben and I will turn in a bit early... ;-)