My husband and I had a couple of (unplanned)kid-free days this week. I think my aunt felt sorry for us. I wonder if we looked more haggard than before, if the bags under our eyes had grown from messenger-sized, to checked luggage. I wonder if she was getting dizzy from watching these kids run circles around us, and decided to step in. Whatever, the reason, I am grateful.

Anyway, the first night, hubby and I enjoyed a quiet dinner at a national chain restaurant. When we arrived, they told us it would be a 40 minute wait. On any other day, we would have driven off immediately, and went to dinner at the regional chain across the street. But that day, we had time. So we took our little buzzer and waited. We enjoyed each other’s company and the time flew by.

After we returned home, my husband suggested that we try for a repeat performance, at a late-night happy hour. I did something no good wife is ever supposed to do. I laughed At him. In his face.

I couldn’t help it. Happy hour is one thing. Late-night happy hour is a whole different thing. It doesn’t start until 9:00pm at the earliest. Our first kid-free night, we turned off all the lights and set the alarm at 8:56pm. I had no idea how he thought either of us would be functional enough to drive us to the destination. Or why he thought we’d actually order and consume food and drinks, and still be functional enough to get us home. I thought it was funny. It was barely 7:00 and we already had on our pajamas. Surely, he didn’t expect me to put my clothes back on! That’s not how I operate.

Anyway, we did not make it to happy hour last night. But I realized my happiest hours are not the ones I spend at the bars sipping on cocktails. And while I do love to eat, my happiest hours do not involve deep fried cheese and chicken wings.

My happiest hours come in the wee hours of the morning, when we are all under the same roof, when the only sounds are the shuffling of covers and gentle snores of the people I love more than anything in this world. And I can glance at the alarm clock and know i’ve Got two more hours before the alarm goes off.

I can’t get any happier than that!