Hamilton & Our First Date in 2 Years

In May 2018 I saw Hamilton with my friend Brittany. I’d heard some of the music, I knew it was supposed to be amazing. I knew my American History loving, history degreed husband would love it.

In 2019 tried to buy tickets for Bill and I for the 2020 show, but financially we couldn’t do it at the time. As we know that show ended up getting canceled anyway.

When it came out on Disney+ I had it marked in our calendar as a stay at home date night for us. Bill became immediately obsessed and the Hamilton soundtrack honestly became the soundtrack to our pandemic experience.

So in November 2021 I decided to buy the tickets, come hell or high water or new variant (I did buy the ticket insurance), and give them for Bill for Christmas. I created a Hamilton themed scavenger hunt for Christmas morning, assorted lyrics to the songs were hits to where each clue was hidden (thank you to Allie for helping me come up with ideas). The last clue told him to tell Alexa a phrase which I programed her to play a Hamilton song and then she announced the surprise.

Last night we went and as we drinking our favorite drinks AT our favorite bar Lei Low, I realized, it was our first date out in over 2 years. Thank you pandemic. It is not lost on me that A LOT of people have been living a nearly normal life for some time, but with 3 high risk folks in our immediate family, we’ve played it really cautious through this whole thing.

Sure we’ve done date hikes out camping…but dinner…at a restaurant…a show…drinks…it’s been a long time. A really long time. And I can say it is felt SO good.

I mean, yeah, we’ve been IN the house TOGETHER for hours, nay, days on end for the last 2 years. Between working from home, job changes, and moving to homeschool we’ve all probably spent more time together during the pandemic than we have in the entirety of our marriage. But a date, out, alone, it hits different.

At one point during dinner Bill started to tell me how much I encourage him to explore and do different things and experience life, that his life would have been so mundane without me. His comments gave me all the warm feels. In that conversation I felt more connected and in love than ever. And I can tell you, that conversation would have never happened at home.

Dates like these give us the time to focus solely on each other, to build new memories, to pave new connections to each other. We’re headed into year 14 of marriage in another month and I can absolutely say a key to a healthy marriage is to continue to date your partner. That and therapy and communication (which is learned better through therapy), but that’s another post all together.

Seeing Hamilton live for the second time (and for probably the 19th time overall) was much more incredible because I got to share it with him. We built memories from this night that are now attached to the music and the places we visited. We gave ourselves the time and space to talk and connect in ways we couldn’t within our normal routine. We formed new bonds.

For the record, I expected none of this. I was excited about drinking a Mai Tai from my favorite place and eating tacos and seeing one of my favorite musicals with Bill.

Take your partner on a date. A real, no strings attached date. It may surprise you.