Back in the day, a Saturday night in on my own was pretty rare. I don’t mean to brag, but back in my single days in Brisbane, I was quite sought after on the weekend (ha ha) so when a free Friday or Saturday night appeared on my calendar, I actually really savoured it. I remember one night in particular, when I was living with friends in a gorgeous renovated Queenslander in Nundah. I knew a couple of days in advance that I had no plans for that Saturday night, so I sussed the other 2 out and found out they were both going to be out! Bliss!

I popped down to the local fishmonger on Saturday morning and picked up their fresh marinara mix to make seafood pasta for dinner. I also put a bottle of Seaview Brut in the fridge from a case that I had been keeping for about a year. This stuff is cheap as chips ($5 a bottle at the time) and my Dad gave me the great tip of leaving it for at least 6 months before drinking it, and it became more like a $30 bottle. The trick is to actually leave it for that long!

I looked up the TV guide and found that I’d hit the jackpot. Titanic was going to be on that night. Honestly, remembering this night still excites me! I made my yummy pasta while drinking my yummy bubbles and sat down for a night of being entertained by Leo and Kate. It was serious “me” time and I still, to this day, remember the complete feeling of relaxation at the time.

Fast forward almost 10 years to tonight. A Saturday night with Hubs at work, leaving me alone with my thoughts. So what did I do? Well, it has been slightly different so far. Firstly, no booze. Secondly, no fresh seafood. Thirdly, no TV. Which is a good thing, because these days I can’t stand watching a movie with ads! And finally, add in a couple of kids, a messy kitchen, and exhaustion from a 33 week pregnancy.

I made the kids and I spag bol and had promised Chanbe that we could “watch a movie on the wall”, ie, the projector. We decided on Toy Story 3 and sat down just after 6:30pm. The kids loved it and it was nice just to sit with them in the air con and oooh and aaaaah along with them. I put them to bed around 8:15, hoping they would just crash, and being very thankful that that’s what happened! Then I had to tackle the kitchen which took a solid half hour. After which I poured myself a glass of milk and grabbed a cookie before sitting down here.

And now I’m at a crossroads. It’s getting close to 9:30, which is a reasonable time to head to bed for a bit of a read and an early night. But then again, The West Wing is calling me. I only have just over a season to go, and every episode gets me that little bit closer! A night to myself is pretty rare these days, and even though I know the sensible thing would be to go to bed, I might just watch one episode. In bed. How’s that for a compromise?