Sweet Irony

Last month I came up with a brilliant idea to help Mike and me go on more dates.

It's called Planning Ahead.

Don't laugh. I'm being totally serious.

The plan looks like this: Mike and I sit down with our calendar at the end of the month and plan out the next month's dates (all four of them) right then and there. We buy tickets or find babysitters or schedule with friends in advance so that when Friday night rolls around, everything is all set up and ready to go. (Rocket science, folks. I think we've about earned our almost 10 years of marriage.)

To help us in our planning (and this is the brilliant part), we give each week a category and base our date around that. For example, one week might be reserved for going out to eat. So when we plan for that week, we immediately narrow down the options because all we have to decide is which restaurant to go to (which is not an easy task, I admit, but it still somewhat narrows our focus).

November is our first official month of Dating 101. So the last Sunday in October, we sat down with our calendar. The kids were in bed. We began to plan. It was all just as I imagined it.

Our first category was "go on a date with another couple." We decided we wanted to see a play at our favorite community theater. We looked at seats for Friday, November 7th, and since we were planning ahead, there were still plenty available. Great! All we had to do was find another couple to go with.

Our enthusiasm started to fizzle after several friends declined our invitation. We didn't buy the tickets, and all week long "Hale Center Theater" mocked me from where we'd written it on the calendar. There's nothing for boosting your morale like failing on the first week.

Thursday evening, I was wasting time on facebook, and I saw that Hale Center Theater was having a drawing for some free tickets. Since we hadn't bought any tickets yet, I decided to enter, figuring that if we actually did win, then we'd have to go.

On Friday, the calender still said "Hale Center Theater," and I was feeling a little glum about it all when Mike stepped up to the task and said, "Who cares if no one wants to go with us? We're going!" Within a couple hours, he bought the tickets, arranged a babysitter, and we were out the door.

We saw Catch Me If You Can, and it was fabulous. Seriously, we love this little theater so much. Everything they put out is top notch. We've seen other productions at bigger, supposedly better, theaters, and we always come back to Hale. In this case, they had about a million costume changes as well as some really spectacular dance numbers.

At intermission, I suddenly remembered the facebook contest and said something like, "Since we're here tonight, I bet I'm going to win those tickets."

You know where this is going, don't you?

On the drive home, I pulled out my phone and checked my email . . . just because I could (the wonders of a smartphone have not worn off yet). This subject line immediately caught my eye, "Congratulations From Hale Center Theater!"

I paused. I thought, You are kidding me. I opened the email.

"Congratulations on winning two tickets to see Catch Me If You Can."

Mike and I just laughed and laughed.

I guess you know what we're doing for our date tonight.

(Just kidding. We gave them away.)