Last Night of Freedom

I've been thinking a lot in the last 24 hours about my friends who are becoming parents tomorrow morning.  Tonight, there are no kids in their house; tomorrow there will be four under five.

My goodness, what do you do the last night before you have children, under these circumstances?  Go out on the town and not come home til dawn?  Stay home and do things you won't be able to do with a house full of kids (I leave that to your imagination--sex on the kitchen table, a keg party, music on full blast til dawn, whatever suits)?  Go to bed early and sleep all you can?

I remember our last childfree night--I was trying to get sleep in a hospital bed while having mild contractions, hooked up to all sorts of monitors, not sure if I would have an "emergency" c-section in the morning.  Mama dozed off and on in an uncomfortable hospital converted chair, with CNN or the weather channel on the whole night.  We couldn't be sure it was the "last" night before we were mommies.  But at that point, we just wanted morning to come. With the kids.  And that's what happened.

But what  would I do tonight if I were my friends?  I think, knowing now what I didn't know (and couldn't have done) then--assuming I wasn't just returning from a trip abroad with Mama, which is how I would spend any substantial free time now!--I would go into the city for a Broadway matinee (yes, it would have to be Wednesday or Saturday), have the fanciest meal I could afford afterwards, spend the evening wandering the Met (yep, it's a Saturday), and then take the train home (eating black and white cookies or Junior's cheesecake on the train).  I would then sleep in.  As late as possible.  And have breakfast in bed.  All with Mama.

That didn't happen.  And won't for a long time.  But you know what?  It's really okay.  We can do a variation of that with the kids pretty soon.  And really, they'll grow up soon enough.  We can do the city--or the world--when they move out and on.