Date Day

Joe and I haven't been away from Elodie for an extended period of time... ever. Childcare isn't really easy to come by in Japan. So you're probably wondering, what do people do with their children when they need a break or have something to do? Well, they either take their kiddos along, put them in daycare, of leave them with family. "Babysitters" don't exist, and it's especially not common for someone to come over to your house to watch your children. So since I don't want to put her in daycare, Joe and I really don't go out just the two of us. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against using daycare, but I'm not comfortable putting her someplace where I can't communicate with the staff. Communication barriers + different cultural expectations = one nervous mama. I suppose that's just the price we pay for living abroad.

So now that we're back in MI, I thought what better way to celebrate Joe's birthday than with a date day! An entire day for just the two of us! It was the perfect situation - family and friends could help watch E, and I knew two very important games were going to be happening while we are home. So I bought tickets for the Redwings vs. Blackhawks hockey game in Detroit, followed by the University of Michigan vs. Michigan State basketball game in Ann Arbor. Back-to-back games! And the best part is that I was able to surprise him as an early birthday present. I never get to surprise him, so it made it extra exciting. Hubby was very happy.

We've seen the Redwings live in Vancouver, but this was Joe's first time visiting The Joe. It was a great game - started off a little slow with the Blackhawks dominating, but the Redwings fought back and managed to keep it a 1-0 game until the last 2 minutes. Unfortunately the Blackhawks scored to tie it 1-1, and then won in a shootout in overtime. But despite the loss, it was still a great game and nice to spend time just the two of us.

 

We had to leave the hockey game a little early to beat traffic in order to make it to Ann Arbor in time for the UM basketball game. So sadly, we missed the overtime hockey shootout. But the good news is that we made it to Ann Arbor just in time for tip-off. After a short 30-40 minute drive and a wardrobe change in the car, we were ready for game #2.

It was a fantastic game and went back and forth for a while. Michigan was up 10-points until the lead slipped away from them in the final minutes of the game. I really thought Michigan was going to blow it, but luckily they were able to keep their lead and won by 1-point in the final 4 seconds. It was the perfect ending to our date day.

Happy early birthday, Hubby. I'm so glad we were able to have a date day to celebrate. This might be the one thing that I'm looking forward to the most when we move back to the U.S. - babysitters and date nights. :)

Thank you to everyone who made this day possible for us by watching Elodie! We certainly couldn't have gone without all of your help!