Dining by Candlelight
Just as I was about to start making dinner tonight, the dark sky opened up and a slow and steady rain began outside. I started to hear the raindrops hit the air conditioner in the window and all the sudden, a streak of lightning flashed outside. “Good thing we’re in for the night,” I thought to myself. And since I couldn’t decide if Nick had one last soccer practice tonight or not, the now-wet fields certainly sealed the deal.
Minutes later, the house went completely black. You know the kind. Utterly pitch black. I waited for a few seconds to see who was going to start screaming or crying first. Silence. And then, “Mommy?” came quietly and with great hesitation. As in … perhaps when the lights went out, Mommy suddenly disappeared too. Like really, I had been standing just a few feet away from them, where would I go?
I started making my way towards the kitchen to hunt for some matches and candles, and just as I reached the threshhold, the whirr of the lights coming back on and all electricity springing back into action came.
I started lighting the candles anyway. Our babysitter is a candle fanatic and always has them lit around the house, far from Madeline’s reach, of course, nicely punctuating the space with bits of flickering light.
“Ohhh, it looks so pretty in the dark with the candles,” Nick said. “Too bad the lights came back on.”
“Well, there’s no reason we can’t have the lights off anyway,” I told him. I grabbed a few more candles from the closet (gotta love the Yankee Candle outlet) and started lighting them for the dining room table. “Why don’t we eat by candlelight tonight?”
“That sounds like fun!”
He had already set the table for me (one of his regular chores), and minutes later (love leftover night for an easy dinner!), we were dining by candlelight.
“This is fun, Mommy!”
“It is, isn’t it?”
Something different. Something fun. Something spur-of-the-moment.
And the best way to avoid seeing the mess that Madeline was making with her bowl of blueberries.
November 5th, 2009 at 9:55 pm
Wow, I didn’t even realize the rain had come tonight! Goes to show I didn’t even look out the window as I was getting my boys fed. What a fun idea to have dinner by candlelight… thinking I may have to try that for fun sometime soon!
November 5th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
You are such a fun mom. These are the things kids remember…..love that.
November 5th, 2009 at 11:25 pm
Great idea! Definitely these are the little things that kids remember!
November 6th, 2009 at 7:15 am
It didn’t rain here at all in NY, at least to my knowledge. How strange! This is a very cute idea either way. Very spur of the moment and fun.
November 6th, 2009 at 10:36 am
When my girls were little we used to eat by candlelight every Friday night.
November 6th, 2009 at 11:25 am
Looks so pretty! I was getting ready to dig out all my candles when the lights came back on. Whew!
November 6th, 2009 at 11:58 am
How neat. LOL… Madie is a mess.
November 6th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
This sounds like fun! There is something special about candlelight.
November 6th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
WOW, look at all that blue all over her. was it easy to get off??? love how she always wears a lot of her meals. VERY CUTE
November 6th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
whAT A SWEET DINNER
November 6th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
Very fun and special for the kids!
November 7th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
What an unexpected and lovely evening! Those are the best.
November 8th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
That looks like sooo much fun. What an awesome mom you are!