Date Night: Tuckahoe

Tuesday night is our date night, every week (whoops, this is a day late).  It's the only night we consistently do not have the kids, and it allows us to spend time with friends on the weekends if we want to.  Lately, we have been trying to explore different Westchester towns, in an attempt to feel a bit more like part of our community.  This week, we went to the Tap House in Tuckahoe.

(Tap House, and me, blurry.  These pictures were taken on the iPhone, which does not have a flash. 

We have a camera, but it's a pain to hook up to the computer, so the iPhone is the default.

Could they make a digital camera that has email capability?  If they make one, could I have one please?  Thanks.) 

     (Tuckahoe, through the windshield of the car)

First of all, doesn't Tuckahoe sound like it should be a ski resort in Canada, not a town just outside of New York City?  When we were trying to pick our restaurant, Kathy said, "Where's Tuckahoe?"  I responded "Up North"* without even thinking about it or actually knowing the answer.  Turns out it's about 15 minutes or so away from our house.  Whoops.


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*FYI for you non-Michigan types.  "Up North" is how people refer to any part of the state north of Lansing.  It encompasses most of the Lower Penninsula and all of the Upper Peninsula, and probably could be used to describe northern Wisconsin, Canada, Alaska, and the Arctic Circle.

Kathy found the Tap House in Tuckahoe by googling "Westchester restaurant fireplace."  So imagine how pleased we were to be able to sit here:

The food was great, albeit a bit pricey for a place that is basically a fancy pub.  But the portions are midwestern in size, so you can definitely split and have enough food.  It was cozy, and warm, and the 3 year old girl who wandered up to our table and stared at us for a while left shortly after we arrived, so that was good.  We both ordered the baby spinach salad (yum, goat cheese), and Kathy got the roasted chicken, while I ordered gemelli (pasta) and shrimp.  All our dishes were tasty and well-presented.  I would tell you what wine we ordered, but we drank the whole bottle, so now I can't remember.  But obviously that was good too. 

I was going to tell you what our scintellating dinner conversation was about.  But I forgot.  So did Kathy.  What the heck, it was only one day ago!  So instead, I will tell you why date night is the most important day of the week.  Relationships are living.  And like all living things, they need attention and nourishment in order to thrive.  We need to spend time alone, talking about things that are mutually interesting and talking about the mundane.  Sometimes, we ban certain topics that have been stressing us out and taking up a lot of our energy so that we can focus on other areas of our lives that we've been neglecting.  It's time away from the kids, away from the blackberries (usually), away from the house (usually), and all the accompanying stress. 

If you have kids, maybe you think that you don't have time for date night.  If you're both working, you might cherish your time with your kids so much that you don't want to take time away from them to have date night.  Fine.  Put them to bed, then have a sitter or friend or family member come over, and spend an hour together, alone.  Who cares if it's practically the middle of the night, and you're both tired?  You will be glad you did, I promise. 

You might also think that if you don't have kids, you don't need date night.  After all, you're alone together all the time, right?  I say, not so.  It's not just time alone.  It's time spent on your relationship.  And also, it's really fun.  Sometimes I forget how funny Kathy is, or how she has a perspective that is so different from mine on something I thought was obvious.  Sometimes we fight, but usually it's about something that has been bothering one of us that hasn't had a chance to get aired.  That's important too.  Sometimes I don't realize all the intersting things she thinks and does that she doesn't get a chance to tell me about.  Date night reminds me why I love her.  Not that I could ever really forget.