Blog No 13 - Friday Night Special

Fridays were often a special day when I was growing up. Not necessarily for me, but for my Mom.

There was an excitement about the day – a bit of a “something great is on the horizon” kind of feeling.

She would do all her typical chores in the morning and then take a bubble bath. She would be excited for my Dad to get home from work and would be in the bathroom taking extra time with her hair and her make-up.

Sometimes I would help her pick out her outfit and I remember helping her find just the right jewelry, trying some of it on along the way.

Even though we didn’t have a lot of extra money, my Mom had a sense of style and fashion that was beyond her time and education. I’m not sure where it came from exactly, but she just knew how to put things together. We often scoured the sale racks of Kohls and Kmart looking for something special for her or I – this was way before thrifting became what we know it as today.

Mom and Dad in an undated photo

Once my Dad got home from work, he’d shower and get ready too. The bathroom and hallway would smell so good from the scent of his cologne when he was ready to go out with my Mother. They always looked so nice and there was a definite lightness about them.

If I had been really good all week and if I begged enough, I might get to go with them out to dinner, but usually at this point, I’d get dropped off down the street at my Grandma and Grandpa’s house to stay overnight. My parents would go out to dinner and then they’d go dancing. They’d meet up with some other couples and have a great evening.

Boy, could my parents dance! I’d give just about anything to have some video of those two “cutting a rug.” I’m not talking about the swaying back and forth hugging each other stuff that’s so prevalent now. I’m talking about the jitterbug or styles you see in the movies where people are gracefully moving across the floor. They’d drink some southern comfort old-fashioneds and meet up with friends and have a night out on the town.

I guess after a long work week of a physical job as a steamfitter and after taking care of me and the home all week, going out on Friday night became how they reconnected and blew off some steam. As a kid I didn’t really get this, but I sure do now. Sometimes, surviving the work week is about all you can do and connecting with your spouse is probably always secondary when you have children. (I say probably because we are not parents.) And maybe celebrating something as simple as surving the week IS cause for a little celebration.

What I do know is this…

I absolutely LOVE to get dressed up.

I think jewelry is a necessary part of every great outfit.

I believe there is a special bit of power in a good men’s cologne.

I couldn’t possibly LOVE dancing any more than I do.

You can call these things learned behaviors, if you wish.

I call them a simple case of watching two people create a life together and modeling how to make marriage work. It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows – no one’s history ever is – but this memory does really make me smile and want to put on my dancing shoes.

As always, thank you for coming along on this ride.

Mom and Dad on my wedding day in August of 1993