Date Night

I’m sure when you read the title of this post, “Date Night”, that you probably thought it meant a blog post about Rick and me. Nope. It’s a post about Karl and me. Pre-Rick, Karl and I got together once a week or so and had supper together, then sat around and chatted for an hour or so. It all started back in Covid times. We were trying to support the local bar and grill here in town, so on Wednesday nights we’d order out, get takeout, and eat at my house. It was great.

Then the bar stopped having chicken and ribs night, so we moved to Karl picking up a rotisserie chicken and mashed potatoes from Kwik Star on Mondays. Then Rick came into my life, and that stopped.

Things were different. Rick was here, and the vibe was just different. That’s nothing against Rick…Karl and I have always been great friends and had a good parent/child relationship. We can talk about everything and anything.

Karl was missing mom time, and I’m so glad he told me that. So, we went on a date.

We ended up going to the Barrell in West Union. It’s a drive-up and eat-in-your-car kind of place that’s only open in the summer. Here Karl is posing with his onion rings. HA!!

I order fries and a Coney Island… YUM! It’s just a hot dog with sloppy joe meat over the top.

We also splurged and got shakes too. Their shakes are to die for…but really expensive. A large is $10!!!

We ate but decided we wanted more time, so we went on a drive.

I’m so thankful that Karl mentioned just us going out. Karl doesn’t mind Rick. I obviously love Rick. We both love time together without Rick, too. Karl is so good at one-on-one conversation. I feel like we can differ in some ways yet each of us respects the other’s opinion. We talk everything from politics to religion, to people in our lives, to work. Nothing is off limits with Karl, and I really appreciate that about him.

The plan is for Karl and I go on a few more outings…just us. We both miss time together. Even growing up when Kramer was alive, Karl and I spent time together. Karl by far preferred spending time in the house with me over outside with his Dad. He’s always been a momma’s boy…and now has grown to be a good friend.

Juggling someone new in my life plus having adult kids with grandkids is not the easiest. It’s come with some growing pains. Some of the family quickly jumped in and gave Rick a try to find they really like him. Some are slower to warm. I keep reminding myself that the whole situation needs time.

Karl has been great in helping us find a balance between mom time and time with Rick around too.

I had a fun time with Karl and can’t wait for our next date!! I never want to lose Karl and me time. Thankfully, Rick is all on board with it and doesn’t feel slighted. I’m so happy we are finding a great balance.