Of my friends I was the first to get married, and now I'm the first to have a kid. I've always had the option to go out solo and sometimes I did, but truthfully it was never as much fun as when I was single. I have flames tickets, so I get out and have a night to myself with a friend once or twice a week, and that's great for me. Beyond that I don't really want to spend time away from my wife.
I love my friends and they're great, but truthfully I find it much easier to hang out with my friends that are in a similar life situation as I am. As much fun as it is to go for a night on the town with a single friend, I'm prefer to go to dinner with friends that are married.
Now that there's a kid in the picture things have changed even more and we're more likely to hang out with other couples that have kids. I love my friends that don't have kids, but they have a harder time understanding how a baby changes your ability to schedule. We have our week generally planned ahead, so if you plan an epic party and give me a day or two notice, there's a very strong likelihood I won't be attending.
In addition to baby-living, my wife is home all day with the kid. If I plan a night out for myself, she's with the kid and gets absolutely no break to herself. Staying home with a kid can be exhausting, and not getting that hour to yourself when dad comes home can be pretty bad. So now I find when somebody wants me to come out after work, the answer is almost always going to be a no just because it's unfair to my wife.
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