Breaking Bottles, Japanese Noodles and Making Memories

Earlier this week my wife planned a big networking dinner for many of her professional female friends. For a week before she told all of us we were welcome to be home during the party, but surprisingly we had no interest to be flies on the wall for this kind of party. It was more about giving her and her friends their space rather than hiding in the basement all night watching the dogs. Number 2 and I had talked about what we would do with ourselves during her last night home for a month or so but we hadn’t settled on any real plans and we were fine with that and figured we would work something out. Well my wife had other plans in mind.

The day of the party she asked what time I would be available and could I be across town by 5:30. I asked why and she said she had made plans for us. You see my wife is constantly thinking about how she can help her family or make things easier for them. I love that about her but when it impacts me I immediately get nervous. I am a control freak and when I am not in control I start to hyperventilate. So what did I do when she asked the question about time? I googled the city I was supposed to drive to and the time in calendar of events and came up with one listing…yoga in the park! I texted back and said sorry not going to do yoga with Number 2 and that we would make our own plans.

Well that wasn’t her plan for us. She had made a couples date for us at a place that you can pay to smash things. You read that right. This is a new business that allows you to come in and for 1 hour you can break things with a baseball bat, hammer and other tools of destruction. Neither my daughter or I knew exactly what to say but we said we are down with giving it a try.

When we got there, we didn’t know what to expect or think. The business was in an old run down office space. The inside didn’t leave much to be desired either. Guess I didn’t know what I expected since this a place you pay to break stuff. They put us in a small room with an old file cabinet, a dozen empty wine bottles and about 2 dozen empty beer bottles and said have fun! I choose an aluminum bat and Number 2 grabbed a heavy hammer. Then we just looked at each other and said, what now? Well there were no rules, we could do what we wanted and make as much of a mess as we wanted!

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t take to this new activity quickly! As Number 2 stood in the corner, I took out my first empty Bud Light bottle, threw it up in the air and obliterated it with the baseball bat! Then it was Number 2’s turn. She went at the filing cabinet as though it had personally wronged her with her hammer and started wailing on it. After a few minutes, she stood up and started laughing. Her laugh was contagious and I joined in. We spent the next half hour throwing bottles against the wall, wacking the filing cabinet and even throwing cinder blocks against the wall watching all our bottles quickly become shattered glass all over the floor. I don’t know how anyone takes an hour to destroy what they give you but it sure didn’t take us long. After we finished we were asked to sign their wall. “We came, we saw we destroyed stuff!”

After that, we had a nice dinner at a Japanese restaurant that my darling wife had also found for us. On our own we then found a new ice cream place to try. All the time, we had a great time talking about her life and our ZagZig Family. It was one of my high points of having her home because it was just about her and I. There are so many other things that can get in the way of a personal relationship without intentionality.

Our date was so much more then breaking things or a good Japanese dinner. It was so much more than the rolled ice cream. It was about getting back to what was important and that is our relationship. Number 2 is off living her dream overseas or in other states entertaining others. Her independence is always been there and when she is gone, we rarely hear from her. She is very important to both of us and we always want her to know that even when we are not talking with her or seeing her she is always on our minds. I often say all of our experiences help to create memories and for sure breaking bottles will be a new memory I will hold dear to my heart.