A request, Dear Readers. Now that our dear children are away most of the year, Mr. FS and I realize just how stay-at-home we've become. Perhaps too stay-at-home.
Part of this is due to our natures (we like to read); part to our professions (as teachers we deal with people ALL the TIME; usually these people have PROBLEMS for us to solve); but part, I'm afraid, is habit.
When our children were young, we seldom had to plan: on weekends, we would go to the zoo or a museum. Their childhood coincided with the highest stress period of our jobs: in the evening, we either hung out with people we knew through our kids, or attempted to write so we might publish, lest we perish.
Last night, we walked downtown to some gallery openings as recommended by a friend. We saw a few people we knew, including the recommending friend. We saw some nice artwork. We even had some cheese and crackers.
So what I'm wondering: how often do you go "out"? What do you do?
Thanks!
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We have "date night" where we go for dinner and see a play, we have seasons tickets at the theatre.
We try to meet up every other week for dinner out with our closest friends...sometimes it's a pub and other times it might be quite fancy.
I also have seasons tickets at another playhouse and my mother and I go to a Saturday matinee.
Just walking downtown and window shopping can be fun...there's energy and a street vibe happening.
FS: I don't know how you found my blog either, but I am glad you did as it lead me to yours!
We (husband and I) don't do a lot of "going out." Walks, suppers "in" with another couple. Some of that is due to our own frugality (and tight budgets); some of that is due to leading a sometimes hectic schedule, especially my husband, and thus appreciating not having to "go out."
Our town has "First Fridays"--the shops stay open later, the gallery has an opening, lots of street life. We often hit that in the past; now that our local Symphony (my husband is the executive director) has moved into a downtown storefront space, First Friday is not a "let's go out" night but an "on duty" night--pleasant all the same, but hardly a night out!
We don't really go out :\
So boring I know! But we just aren't interested, unless there's an event that interests the both of us, which is rare (even for one)
If there are festivals, we'll show up ... but generally speaking, we like staying at home, cooking and being homebodies
New Orleans has a truly remarkable art scene. I often go that way for the New Orleans Opera, for example, which is ostensibly one of the best in the country. You can get really phenomenal seats that are priced reasonable enough for even a college guy like me to go with a date. It's always a fun night of dressing fancy and seeing a great opera.
Tough question. Our social life revolves in large part around our running club. We go to the pub with other club members after a run once a week, either on Mon or Wed. Then perhaps twice a month we might have lunch out, when running errands either for the club or ourselves. The best we've ever done was alternate weekends, working our way through a list of museums, gallerys, stately mansions and the like. Make a list of what a tourist would do, and there you have it. Without concerted effort, this happens by itself maybe once every two months. For a while we entertained other people quite a bit, parties and dinners and such, but not recently.
We seem to get more mileage out of big holidays: Bill is in heaven planning them months to a year in advance, we go and enjoy it, I blog about it for weeks and we fiddle with the photos off and on for years after.
I go out with a friend maybe once or twice a month for a coffee, a meal or a day out. Bill likes to go off on long bike rides or along with a rambling club that walks in the hills for a whole day. I do a sewing group and a bookbinding session every week. We're both on the running club committee and I chair a race sub-committee; that's two more meetings in a pub a month.
I'd say do what suits you. If you love staying home, why not? Might just take a bit of dreaming for a while and trying some things out. You may find interests as a couple and some as individuals. You sound like you are inclined to be quite serious about things (so am I). Time to learn how to have more fun!
Go out while you can and have fun! One day you will want to and mobility might be less certain. I see this *all the time*, elders so wishing they could just walk on the street and window shop (as hostess says) or meet a friend for coffee.
We have people over often, and go to their homes.
We go to lectures/symposia, to eat (often to explore a new neighbourhood)
to botanical gardens, street fairs- as well as usual theatre/film/concerts etc. Out for ice cream, a drink, to bookstores, which host readings.
We don't go out together for exercise as we like different forms.
Suggest you access your local "What's On" magazine so you can plan ahead for what's coming up.
We don't get out as often as we would like due to very tight budgets and ever shifting schedules. When we do we love to stroll along walking trails at state parks and canoe on a river.
Ha! You described my life when you said, "When our children were young"... though we only make it to the city about once every 3 or 4 weeks, so not so many museum/zoo trips. More farm festival kinds of things.
@hostess--Much of the best stuff is an hour or more away--do you go that far? We don't have a good downtown--I miss having one. I think I'm more of a city girl sometimes.
@April--I will return! Thanks for stopping by. Thanks for the good ideas too--in fact, we went to a 2nd Saturday just the other day on a friend's advice.
@FB--That's funny! You live in a great city!
@Logan--We are too lazy about driving into New Orleans--you are right. It's a great city.
@Shelley--Thanks for the good ideas. Again, I have to be less lazy about the drive to New Orleans--there's more than too much to do there.
@Duchesse--Wise words, as expected. Again, it would be easier in a wonderful city....like Toronto.
@Iam--Thanks for stopping by. Interestingly, I happened upon your wonderful blog a few days ago, though I didn't comment. You are right in suggesting those wonderful activities--frustratingly, it is still in the 90s here, so walks are downright unpleasant.
@nicole/maggie--Just beware lest you forget how to plan for grown-up activities--as I did.
What counts as "going out"? We probably average one "event" per month, but there are plenty of ways to spend time together and be out and about in the world that don't require dressing up or spending money.
DH and I have had fun browing in antique stores together, or hitting up dollar stores, or even toy shopping. We fish, we collect nuts, we pick grapes.
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