Pris Adventures: My Prince brought me out!

My hubby and I went for a date night yesterday. It was so special, I wish I could have saved the whole experience in a virtual reality DVD and re-play it all day, everyday!

Why was it so good???

Because I had absolutely nothing to do with the planning of it! Hub actually planned the entire thing!

He arranged the babysitter. He decided on the day and time. He researched on venues of where to bring me annnd he kept me in surprise until the day itself!

I had NO idea where we were going! It felt like we were singletons exploring a brand-new city!

We went to a German restaurant that we've never been to. He researched on TripAdvisor and brought me to the #1 restaurant in Stuttgart!

I really enjoyed being the one who could sit back and not do anything and just be treated like a princess for an evening!

I have a confession. Since we got married 11.5 years ago, and more so since we started having kids 6 years ago, I'm the organiser. I decide when, where and what to do. As much as I like surprises, I'm too impatient not knowing what's going on. I like knowing what to expect and as a Mom, I don't like last-minute changes.

Yes, changes are to be expected - especially with kids. But that's also why I hate being unplanned. I know how unpredictable kids can be so as far as possible, I try to minimise last-min changes in my regular schedule.

That said, I also complain that the hub doesn't court me anymore. You know what I mean. Or that Stuttgart is BORING. (Sorry to you Germans reading my blog).

Coming from a city with 5 million people, I do like the hustle and bustle of a big city. I like exploring new eateries, going for new experiences and doing new stuff.

Our usual Sunday hangouts alternate between hmmm.... 5 restaurants? Many Germans that we know don't even eat out. We eat out on weekends and that's considered extravagant for many already. Call me spoilt, but I can't wrap my head around the idea of cooking every.single.freaking.day! Mummies need a break too, yo!

Plus, I don't like what the Germans call "Abendbrot" - evening bread, which means bread with cold cuts. Gosh. I can maybe have that once a week but don't expect me to eat it every dinner! Even my kids don't like Abendbrot all the time. If we've had Abendbrot one evening, they will be like "not again" if we have the next evening. That simply means that I have to cook for lunch and dinner.

Right, so let's go back to our Date Night! It was sooo lovely! We first went for dinner and thereafter went for a Skybar! Like wow!!!

Ok, let me put a disclaimer. Our sky bar is on the 10th floor in an old town. My camera battery died, if not I would have taken a photo of the skybar.

To be far, we don't have skyscrapers here. So the 10th floor here while every other building is a maximum of 3 floors means that we are still on the highest point in town. I had to poke fun that in Singapore, a skybar means 55 floors and in Schorndorf, a skybar is on the 10th floor.
(Mental reminder: Stop comparing Pris!)

Right, it was really lovely being right up there though. Neither of us had our phones working more. I ordered an Aperol Spritz while Stephan got himself a glass of white wine.

We sat next to each other and I enjoyed the feel of the hub's arms around my shoulders. That's really what I miss a lot! With 3 kids, we rarely have time to hold each other hands, let alone him putting his arm around my shoulder. You do need 2 hands to push a stroller and the 2 older monkeys still need some supervision.

It was such a wonderful evening. I think I told the hub a million times "I'm so happy you organised this."

I really truly appreciated that the hub took the initiative to organise something! I really loved the element of surprise he brought in with it. To be fair, he refused to tell me the agenda for the day because he was half scared that I would shoot down his idea.

It's such a learning experience for me though. I realised that I need to step back so the hub can take the lead in this relationship. At the risk of sounding corny, I do really miss being the Princess and being brought on a nice journey by my Prince.

I feel that one of the main dangers of being married for a while is that we go on autopilot. We each assume our roles and just sorta keep doing what we're doing. But I've missed the spark you know. Just the feeling / memory of our lives before we had kids. Us just enjoying our lives together. I don't want a marriage that is just an empty shell after the kids move out. We're far from where we want to be, but this date night was definitely a huge step in the right direction!

That's why I kept ~~nagging~~ telling the hub that I wanted him to organise ONE date night. Like just one. So that I feel like he's taking me out on a date and not that we're going out a date that I organised.

And I need to say this once.

YOU did GREAT darling!!! I'm so proud of you!

For you wives - Let your husbands take over some of the roles that you've assumed for a while. You never know! They might just surprise you with what they can do!

For you husbands - Bring your wives out! Surprise them! Pursue them even when you're married! Do something new with her! You know what they say, Happy Wife = Happy Life!