I do realize that the very title of this post will insure that my mother is the ONLY human that I date for a long time. But Saturday night I did indeed have a date with my mom.
And before you make that “awww” sound and think that I have also started to crochet and got a cat, you should know it was MY idea and we had great time.
It wasn’t just a date with my mom, it was also a date with Madison. Madison, especially central Madison, is like this happy little nirvana of liberalism. Like it’s own version of a Richard Scarry book.
Except ours would be called “The Best Liberal Town Ever!”
Complete with the local grocery store being Trader Joe’s and young children helping their parents carry “Obama/Biden” yard signs down the street.
We had dinner at this wonderful Mediterranean restaurant, Dardanelles, where the owner, Barbara, is very involved in politics in Madison. And, ah, that’s putting it mildly. Not only does she have a large “Obama ’08″ sign on the front door of the restaurant but my mom said she has also been known to send petitions around the dining room to impeach Bush and Cheney. Yeah, I have a woman crush on Barb.
After dinner we decided to stroll down to the Obama Headquarters, which since this is Happy Liberal Town, is just a block away. Even though it was a Saturday night, the place was buzzing. My mom and I signed ourselves up for duty and promised to come back in this week. And trust me, just being in there charged us up so much that we WILL be back. My mom even promised to make phone calls! Which isn’t one of her strongest suits as she proved during the Kerry campaign of 2004. But I think if there was ever a Presidential Candidate she could concur her fears of talking to random people on the phone for, it would be Obama.
Oh, but the night didn’t end there. No sir! Then it was time to get in our Happy Little Subaru and go to Sundance (the one in Madison, not Utah) to see the biggest chick flick and cheesiest film known to man. Nights In Rodanthe. (Warning: even this website I linked might make you gag.)
I knew we were in for it when the opening credits said this film was based on the book by Nicholas Sparks. But dammit, if both my mom and I, in spite of ourselves, didn’t bawl our eyes out. There is just something about Richard Gere that can bring a woman to her knees. And don’t even get me started about how cute Diane Lane is. As we were walking to the car with red puffy eyes and dribbling noses, we were laughing about what a cheesy movie that was and why the hell were we crying!!!
In the car on the way home I said, “Thanks for a great date Mommy!”
To which she replied, “I AM a good date huh? I pay for everything and won’t even make you come inside for a nightcap.”
“And you even provide free babysitting thanks to your husband. Wow, this is the best date ever!!”
I guess it’s a good thing that if I am going to be a spinster for the rest of my life, I have someone who is fun to play with and won’t break up with me. She can’t. It’s a biological law.
So Mom, whatcha doin’ next Saturday night?
