Chai and Yo-Yo Ma

Tonight was the first night that I've had an evening to myself (all to myself!!) since Aislinn was born 5 1/2 months ago. You first must understand that I am an introvert (not necessarily shy, but inward-focused). Being around people, even people I love, drains me, and being alone recharges me. So you can well imagine what motherhood can do to a seasoned introvert like myself. I've had an hour or so to go grocery shopping once a week or so, and I did have a date with my husband that was about two hours long, and yes, that was nice! But tonight I had three, count 'em, THREE solid hours of alone time. This is happening far sooner with Aislinn than it did with Audrey, as Audrey was an every-hour-and-a-half nurser for many months, and didn't even usually go more than two hours at night (thank goodness for the family bed, is all I can say for that). Aislinn can and often does go for three hours by now without nursing, sometimes even four, and Aislinn sleeps. Oh yes. She sleeps. Not "through the night", but she gives me enough consecutive hours that I'm not falling asleep in my breakfast the next morning.

So anyway. My night out. This is a weekly ritual I've had since Audrey was old enough to go a few hours without me (let's say about 3 1/2 years). I have more or less the same ritual every week: I go to Borders, buy a magazine, and sit in the cafe munching on a cinnamon scone and sipping chai. I'm a regular there by now; some of the baristas know me by name. I've got a Borders tote bag and a Borders travel mug (15% discount, don'tcha know!). Sometimes I'll journal a little bit, often I'll browse my favorite sections (parenting, travel, and China). But mostly I read through a favorite magazine, either Real Simple or Mothering. I let the magazines inspire me and the caffeine invigorate me. By the time I leave, I feel refreshed and ready to take on whatever challenges my kids throw at me for the coming week. And if a week goes by and I don't get my "mom's night off", my whole family bears the brunt of it. I need that time alone. It took my husband a while to get this (he's an extrovert, of course), but once he realized it makes me a better wife and mom, he did his best to make sure I get this time to myself. Until this week, I'd been taking Aislinn with me, but tonight I decided to try it alone.

Even though Aislinn does sleep pretty well, occasionally she does wake up an hour or two after I put her down. Sometimes she fusses for a few seconds, and soothes herself back to sleep, but sometimes I have to go in and nurse her again. My main concern this evening was that she would wake up, perhaps hungry, and Mama wouldn't be there. I left a bottle of milk I pumped yesterday, but that is not necessarily a solution, because she rarely agrees to drink from a bottle (and I can't blame her, really...even if it's the tasty stuff from Mama, I'm sure she'd rather get it from me than from sucking on silicone). But last Monday I went out for a couple of hours with a friend, and left a bottle...and she actually drank two ounces of it. So I had hopes that she would take some tonight if necessary. Turns out she apparently hasn't even woken up yet. When I came in, Leo was asleep in the bed, Aislinn next to him, and no bottle in sight. I checked the fridge; it's still there where I left it. Big sigh of relief.

I did make a couple of purchases tonight (books and CDs are my biggest shopping weakness), including a Yo-Yo Ma CD. I don't know why it's taken me this long to buy one of his CDs. I love his music; I've listened at the listening stations in Borders before, and always thought to myself, "I need to get that." Never did. Tonight I did: Silk Road Journeys: Beyond the Horizon. I listened to it in the car on the way home. Fabulous. I will be buying more, though he's so prolific, I could run myself bankrupt trying to buy all the old ones AND keep up with his new releases.