from prom to valentines

at my urging, we are sitting here wracking our brains to remember the last time we went out together all dressed up.   well, I am thinking really hard to remember.   alien humored me for a few minutes, threw out "new year's eve?" and a funeral we attended recently, before he stuck his nose back into his smartphone.

but al was grasping at straws with new year's eve, because we haven't.  and a funeral doesn't count.  think, think, think greta.  oh my god.  could it be?  yes, that's it.  april 2008.  i am not kidding.  the last time i wore a dress and alan a suit and we had a ton of fun together was at his best friends wedding almost 4 years ago.  although, we did have our kids with us.  so that one only half-counts.    

circa 2008

oh wait, i just thought of a few more times we did get slightly dudded up.   none of which count, all of which are pathetic to list as times we got dressed up and went out.   you'll see what i mean.   two years ago alien and i were parent chaperones at the high school prom.  al wore his fancy suit and i wore a lame dress with a sweater over it.   chaperoning a high school prom sucks donkey balls and there was no "us" having fun since we were too busy eagle eyeing and splitting up the teenagers playing tonsil hockey and touchy feely.  

the only other time i can think of is when bert graduated from high school may 2011.  al suited up and i donned a dress.  i think the same one that i wore to chap the prom a year earlier.  and we just went to the ceremony and came home after.    that's it.   we are overdue a fancy occasion together.

we've had a mess of prickly parenting to do between 2008 and now that has kept us home, stressed, and exhausted.   but look out world!   we have regrouped, the kids are alright, and we are coming on the party circuit again.   

we have been invited to a valentine dinner party.   we are in charge of bringing "good bread for dinner and one bottle of red wine".  that's exactly what the text said, good bread.   we've been out of commission so long, alien, previously the master party planner and food preparer, asked me "what is good bread?"