I am a small shell of the wild child I used to be

There was a time in my life that excitement was at a premium. I ate at restaurants no one would dare bring a child to, I danced till the wee hours of the morning, I took off on last minute getaways, I enjoyed cocktails from the early part of the day into the night. Those days, however, are long in my rear view mirror. I am not a nun, by any means, but when I enter bars now I am moved more by the stench than the tunes.

The highlight of my weekend, besides the early morning tailgate with my kids, friends, and mimosas, was the purchase of a new vacuum cleaner. That's right, I was thrilled beyond belief to buy a vacuum, and I was very disappointed in myself for this reaction. Domesticity is now my vice of choice, when in the hell did this happen? There were days in my past that I blew hundreds of dollars to dance at the best clubs, but now I feel a rush in dropping coin for uber-clean carpets. This revelation of myself in my mid-thirties frightens me, because I can't help but wonder what mundane, trivial indulgences may await me in my future. And I must ask myself who the hell is this person?

And maybe it wasn't just the household purchase that got my juices flowing, but the fact that I was so moved by how my husband presented me the idea. The romantic that he is, he baby wrangled Saturday morning and let me sleep in, which I found to be very sexy of him. Lucky for me my Price Charming did not stop the seduction there. He then brought me breakfast in bed, and I have to say that being able to eat a meal alone and while still warm was magical, and after placing the tray on my lap he announced, "I am buying you a new vacuum today." I know some chickies would find this demeaning even offending, but not me, I found it to be quite endearing. His honesty was refreshing, because truth be told the vacuum was not an us purchase. It was indeed a me purchase seeing as how "us" may take it for a few test drives and then call it a career. I had mentioned a few times in conversation that our vacuum had seen better days, but never once demanded a new one, so I was moved that he remembered and it registered. Again, when we were in our 20's living life to the fullest I would have preferred gifts of a saucier nature but these days who has the time. What I do have is time to vacuum, and maybe find some time to formally thank my man. Maybe even dirty up the clean carpets.