How many other wives out there get to (or have to, depending on how you look at it) plan most of the date nights? I'm not a glass princess in a tower. I have things I want and I make them happen. I take Papa along for the fun and he usually has a good time. We call it a date because, if we didn't, we wouldn't be dating almost at all.
Tuesday, I took him to the theater to see Tribes. My ASL instructor mentioned that it was playing at the DCPA in class one day. I looked it up and decided I wanted to see it. I looked at ticket prices and seat availability and asked Papa if he wanted to go. We went.
The room was overwhelmingly full of grey hair. Why is that? I love theatre. I'm 28. Is there something wrong with that? I think people my age avoid anything with a stage. Papa and I have been to the symphony/orchestra twice in the last several months. Admittedly, there were plenty of young people at the Star Wars orchestra performance, but we might have been the only people under 50 at the Berlioz symphony.
Anyway, Tribes was incredible. The theater it was performed in was small enough to be intimate, and our seats were a few rows back and right in the middle. The characters were lively and believable. I'm no theatre critic. I was in a few plays as a kid, but nothing more than high school or community theatre. So, it impresses me when an actors can swear and argue and generally be abrasive, and also be called terrible names by his costars, without letting on that it's a little bit funny. That was especially important because there is a lot of shouting, arguing, name-calling and swearing in this play.
The set was beautiful. The presentation was amazing. The play itself is emotional and intense.
The play started at 6:30 and we had to pick up our tickets just before the show, so we didn't get to eat dinner until after. We didn't get home until about 10:30, at which time I had to cram all of my prep for the next morning in as quickly as possible. Because, earlier that day, I had committed myself to getting up at 5:30.
Let me explain.
I've been a bit stir crazy lately. I don't mean that I'm not getting out of the house enough. I'm out of the house quite a lot. It's my schedule I'm struggling with. I'm lacking spontaneity. I felt this way last fall, too. Fall semester doesn't have any breaks until the very end, right before finals, when we get a week off for Thanksgiving. So, somewhere between midterms and finals, I get tired of the grind.
I skipped a whole day of class because I just didn't want to go. I started thinking about just skipping my exit and driving to the mountains instead of to campus. I started having weird dreams with spontaneous (sometimes inappropriate or dangerous) themes. I decided I needed a change.
When I settled on an idea, I texted a friend I thought might want to join me. I wanted to start working out more. This plan has at least three benefits: 1.) I get to change my schedule 2.) I get to be healthier, which I was having trouble managing otherwise 3.) I get to hang out with someone who doesn't live in my house and who makes me laugh. This, I silently asserted, was going to get me through seasonal affective disorder this year.
We decided we'd meet at the campus gym and work out for an hour in the morning three days a week. I have class at 8 on Mondays and Wednesdays. I get up at 6:30 so I can leave the house by 7 and be on campus sometime between 7:30 and 7:45, depending on traffic. So, now, I get up at 5:30 so I can leave the house by 6 and be on campus at about 6:30... because traffic isn't an issue... because basically no one gets up that early.
It was great. 5:30 was fine. Working out was fun and woke me up for my 8am math class. I get to spend more time with one of my favorite people, and I feel better today that I normally do on school days. In all ways, this was a great plan. In every category, it was either exactly as enjoyable as I imagined or better. And I didn't have to buy a motorcycle or dye my hair to feel like I broke out of my box. Win!
No comments:
Post a Comment