Thursday, May 22, 2008

6 hours and counting....

I was tempted to post these thoughts over at the homeschool message board that I occasionally scan through. But there's a rule about not "husband-bashing" there. And I don't know if this could be misconstrued as that. Or develop into it in a regular thread. I hope not, but am trying it out here just to be safe.

Now there does NOT seem to be a rule on this board against searching for personal information on a poster with whom you do not agree and to whom you have lobbed various unkind names and then posting tidbits of that info on the board in a bogus attempt at an "internet safety lesson." But I'm letting go of that. Really.

Ok, Val, so get on with it then! We're all clear on your feelings for the Urban Dad. Plus other things.

Urban Dad's 50th birthday is next week. Poor thing, it's the day after my PRK is scheduled, so we'll have to celebrate not-quite-on-his-day. That's the down side. Now the UP side is that the MIL -- who has opted to not come into town afterall -- has offered to send us to dinner anywhere in Chicago that we want as his present.

Oooooo, the possibilities!

As we pondered our options, we were reminded of one particularly beyond-swanky-and-straight-to-pretentious place where dinner takes SIX HOURS. And the Urban Dad cavalierly asked, "Could we even talk over dinner for six hours????"

Now I agreed that it was silly, of course. Heck, I get a serious case of car-butt when doing the 5-6 hour drive to St. Louis to visit my fam. And at $12/hour for a babysitter... But why let him off the hook so easily?

I responded with harmonious things like: "But our first date was 12 hours." And "are we already out of things to talk about?"

But it has me wondering now. Could you make dinner conversation with your spouse for six straight hours? Keep in mind, we're not talking Chinese takeout while getting the taxes done. And no Monopoly or Scrabble or even a deck of cards to play War. No sunset to watch. No quickie in the coat-room. And assume that everyone around you is also in the haul for six hours, too -- so people-watching could be limited.

Just you. And him.

Could you do it?

(By the way, we're kicking around here for dinner.)

8 comments:

Maria said...

Methinks I know of the message board of which you speak. Do the words LOCKED THREAD mean anything?

This isn't husband bashing this is reality..but who cares what everyone else thinks, don't you really want to know what I think? Of course you do.

Six hours. I think it would be a hoot, although that "no quickie in the coat room" was a bit off putting...are you sure on that? Even if you ate in companionable silence..it would be great..and heck, I would love to corner my husband for six hours and have him captive to my everysinglethought I've had during the last two weeks. Between "the child" and being tired and work and all that..we talk whilst passing each other in the bathroom brushing our teeth...heck, Val, you could talk about The Meaning of Life...and the sure conversation killer like "Where Are We Going...As A Couple??" Oh, yeah, do it!! That place looks awesome...and then blog about it. With pictures...ya, try getting THOSE at this place...

phew...I"m tired and a little flip tonite..but I do mean you should go..sounds cool...

Welcome to Great Goblets! said...

I'd have to say my hubby and I seriously would NEVER make it that long. *SIGH* I wouldn't say we've actually ran out of things to talk about for that long after 21 years together, but I know my hubby and first the fact that it took him 6 hours to get all his food to him, in him, and probably some of it out of him, =p that would really just be pushing the limits. I'm afraid at some point good humor would wear off and we'd either not be talking at all, or we'd be talking in our really loud voices, and some throwing of food may be involved! ;o

G said...

6 hours... hmmm. I know on our first "date", my dh and I talked for 13 hours straight, but then that was 13 years ago... but then I could see that it might be worth a try!

Jenn said...

I think I could pull it off. DH works so darn much these days, though "hopefully" things will be changing soon. Yeh, right. Who The Heck am I kidding? He's STILL in the Navy. :-)
Anyway, *I* could talk with him for 6 hours, easily. Assuming that would include some bathroom breaks, and some alcohol. ;-)
What I don't know is whether DH could stay awake that long, while having a conversation. I'm serious. The poor guy is worked into the ground, and he's not even in manual labor any more- he's a paper pusher and glorified supervisor. (He's a Navy Chief, LOL). I don't know how long he'd last. His restless legs would probably become an issue, and he has a HORRIBLE time sitting up straight- it hurts his very long back, LOL. I, have a hard time leaning, propping, and NOT sitting up straight. Anyway, I am rambling aren't I, I mean, this is your blog comments box, NOT a message board ;-)
Jenn

Mom2legomaniacs said...

Have a blast! And, I don't know if we could pull that off. I could talk forever sometimes. DH doesn't talk. Ever. He is the quiet type. I would bore the socks off the poor guy rambling about home school stuff, knitting, and my virtual friends lives LOL! I agree with Jenn. Maybe with some alcohol and potty breaks, it could happen.

Dy said...

OH, heck yeah, we could. We'd rather just do it at Denny's, over "Franchise Coffee", though, and paper napkins for sketching out ideas. Six hours would fly by, for us, in nothing flat. I love that.

Jenni said...

Uh, yeah. Not husband bashing, but you did mention the reason I'm staying away from the board for a while. I feel someone's been trying to pick a fight and I've been too close to taking the bait and getting wrapped up in that whole world instead of getting things done here.

I don't think I could do six hours with just dh in a restaurant. With another couple maybe. Dh and I went out Saturday, and I was reminded of how difficult it can be to have a conversation in a restaurant. It has to be the right kind of conversation--something light and pleasant. And I always feel like there are other people listening. I mean, if I can hear what they're saying so clearly, they can surely hear what we're saying, right? It makes me nervous. On a dinner date alone, dh's conversation tends to be flirty. I like that, but it can be embarrassing when you feel the next table is listening in. I can't imagine that for SIX hours! Another couple like my brother and his wife could be fun. The conversation could even get quite loud and crazy, but I would feel insulated by the group and not so much in the spotlight. Okay, I know this sounds ridiculous. Who wants to watch me and listen to my conversations? But try telling my paranoid and agoraphobic side that!

Redefining Paradise- Rachel said...

I knows of a message board like that.....hmmmmmmm

6 hours huh? I might be able to pull it off but it would be a stretch and I don't think it would be particularly enjoyable. I remember those days of talking for hours on end...but after so many years when you read each other thoughts, let alone speak them there is just only so much to say at any one meal :)