happy father's day, love.

dave always gets embarrassed when i write gushy or complimentary things about him in my blog. since i'm in love with him, and he's the most amazing man i know, not writing complimentary and gushy things proves difficult.

since today is father's day, i can get away with writing about him. so i'm going to. and he can't stop me!

dear husband,
i'll try to keep this relatively brief, but you make it impossible. as my partner in this life, i honestly feel privileged to be raising kids along side you. before we were even dating, i knew you'd be a great dad. it's one of the things that attracted me most to you. you just have "it"...whatever that "it" is. and that "it" is something very special- more of a gift than a talent or a skill.

one of the things i love the most is your willingness to participate in raising our kids. there are no tasks you consider "mine" because i'm the mother. there is no area of interest when it comes to raising kids that you aren't interested in. you want what's best for your kids, and you want to read about/talk about/find out about whatever those best things are. parenting to you (and with you) is exciting and joyful. it's a relief to a mom, knowing that she has someone who's got her back, who will step in and give her a break, who will take a turn, who is always involved and invested.

on top of all that, you're fun and playful, and you really enjoy spending time with your kids. it's so amazing to watch you with elias and piper. the way they adore you makes me adore you even more. i love listening from the other room as you and elias sword fight or play chess. and i love how every time piper sees you she reaches for you and snuggles up into your chest. i love how you enjoy teaching them new things, and i am in awe of your patience with them. i especially love how you've taught elias to compliment my cooking and tell me i look pretty. he'll make a great husband and father some day because of you :)

so for every story you read, every skill you impart, every teaching moment, every game of baseball, every venture out fishing, every peek-a-boo, every paino lesson, every tickle-tackle, every snuggle, kiss, and hug, i am forever grateful. not only that my children know you, but that they are fortunate enough to have your genes and be raised by you. you are man i respect greatly and love deeply. and i know our children will feel the same.

happy father's day, handsome. i hope you enjoy today as much as we all enjoy you.

xo, mama, jason bay/elias, and pipski

hitting the club with the reverend...

saturday night, dave surprised me with an impromptu little date night. he had asked my dad to come over and "monitor-sit" so he and i could go out and have a few adult moments.

dave has this spot called benjamins in taunton that he loves to go and read and meet with people for discipleship. it's this upscale restaurant that has a beautiful library that smells of leather-bound books and rich mahogany.

hehe, well, you know. it's just this cool place with bookshelves from floor to ceiling, a bar, leather chairs and sofas, and a fireplace that is always blazing. it's really quite nice.

when we pull in, the parking lot is jam-packed. no spots. we figured there was a wedding reception or something, so we park in a dark corner of the lot and make our way inside. we were expecting to have a quiet moment by the fire, but as we walk in, we can hear loud music pulsing from the library.

live music! perfect. dave had planned on taking me to a local jazz bar, but apparently, it is no longer in business. this was his plan b. and bonus, there's some nice live music. so we saunter in and steal a couple chairs to pull up to a high top. ahhh, live music, a cocktail, adult conversation. it's all lovely.

benjamins is filled with middle aged couples. mostly forty plus people, sprinkled with a few retired folks and maybe a couple or two in their thirties. maybe. so we're clearly the youngest folks in this place. this is a no jeans kind of establishment- everyone is wearing sport coats, slacks, and sequins. it's on the verge of a fashion nightmare, but that's another blog. so think middle-aged, mustaches, bad fashion, and slow dancing to music of the 50's and 60's. sprinkled with some 80's and 90's. a good mix for this crowd.

we enjoy our chatting for a while, as gq and the lady croons some barry white and some harry connick jr. they're very good. i'm pleasantly surprised at how well they can all belt.

a bit later, the band takes a break...we sip our drinks.

nice.

then, suddenly, i hear usher's "yeah" pumping through the speakers. bass bumpin.

and this band, this wedding band, starts covering usher. what?!

everyone gets up out of their leather seats, and they bust onto this little dance floor with their wives, scotch in hand, to shake it to a little r&b.

and then to beyonce's "crazy in love."
WITH jay-z's rap.
believe it.

and then lady gaga's "just dance."

for real.

and i'm like- seriously- WHAT IS THIS PLACE?!!?

all i could do was smile and laugh at how unapologetically this upscale restaurant morphs into a club for sport-coat wearing middle-aged men and women. don't get me wrong, i'm all for movin and shakin, having a drink with friends or a lover, but it unexpectedly just turned into club benjamins, and i wasn't braced for it. i simply wasn't ready for these middle-aged mustached men and their sequined wives to get jiggy. it was a sight. they were getting so crazy in there, someone knocked over a speaker. i couldn't stop watching them all. dancing in the library. what an oxymoron. but i loved it. i mean, they were having a blast.

and so were we.

so. next saturday night. club benjamin's. who's in?