Anniversary RAGE

Today, A.G. and I celebrated our 2nd year anniversary. Being that we don't get out much, we figured that we owe it to ourselves to go to a nice restaurant for brunch. Being that it is Sunday, I specifically made the reservation for when they opened. That way, the likelihood of unruly brats storming the restaurant ruining our day would be slim. I even asked for our table to be as secluded as possible.

At least it worked in theory...not in practice.

Because a few minutes after we get our water, we see a highchair being transported from one section of the restaurant to the other. Shortly after, we hear the squealing, shrieking, and bawling of the sprog and its sister and the cooing of the staff that was either trying to calm it down or playing into its lust for attention.

In either case, both of us had flashbacks to our wedding reception of almost 2 years prior - to which we have yet to recover from. We both were literally shaking from the ordeal. Yes, the food was good and the staff was attentive (hell, the music was cranked up after a while), but the damage was already done. We spent the rest of the day attempting to recover emotionally.

I mean seriously, what happened to the parents leaving their kids to be watched by a sitter while they (parents) have some quality adult time with either each other or amongst other adults? Why the fuck does every establishment - even pubs and taverns - have to be able to accommodate moo, duh, and sprog? If there's all of these "Kid-friendly" places out there, why can there not be any "adult-friendly" place that is not a strip club or dance club? Those scenes are just not for us.

To think that some random lazy parents who does not want to hire a sitter complain about how there is no place that not accommodating for little 3-month old Tommy and 2-year old Debbie - both of which shit their diapers - is absurd. I think these eateries, events, and establishments can be way too accommodating to a point where if you don't have a SUV stroller, a long line of kids running willy-nilly in tow, or are very openly breastfeeding, then you better have an extremely high boiling point or else you're fucked.

No peace and quiet.

No time with your sweetie.

Just go out for errands QUICKLY and go back home and lock yourself inside.

...at least that's how it feels to me.

Anyway, thanks for reading.

Why I've started this blog...

Well, I'll humor you all with a bit of backstory without going more into my life than I care to write...

I am the oldest of 3 in a single parent family. Which meant that a good chunk of raising my younger sibs fell on my shoulders as mom worked. Years later, I become an uncle. Being that I was still living at home at the time, part of that responsibility was placed on me. Again, I will not go into detail, but as you can see, I am not a stranger to child rearing in the slightest, which validates my decision to be child-free.

When my wife and I were dating, she mentioned that she shared my sentiment, being that she came from a different background which cemented her decision. In all honesty, had she chose otherwise, I would not have minded. Such is the nature of our love for each other...but that's a different story for a different blog. But since she made that decision on her own accord, it made me all the more happier.

Who would have thought that some of those who do not share our sentiment would make life that much more difficult?

(For an example, read the blog post below from paragraph 8 onward.)
http://subatomic-penguin.blogspot.com/2008/10/mr-burley-takes-wife-long-readsemi-rant.html
Enter this blog.

Being that we live in the midwest (Chicago, to be precise), we seem to be in the heart of breeder-ville, USA. This means that pretty much everything is "kid-friendly"...but not "couples-friendly"...much to our chagrin.

Anyway, this blog is for ranting of anything on the subject that I absolutely need to get off of my chest. I will pull no punches nor will I hold back. After all, these are my thoughts and this is my blog.

Being that I do pride myself as being quite the gentleman, it goes without saying that proper etiquette...or rather "netiquette"... will be STRICTLY ENFORCED as far as responses are concerned. Basically, that means that if I get an unruly response, the respondent will get an outright verbal thrashing before being rightfully blocked. In a perfect world, I would have no need to say this. But given the responses I've seen elsewhere in other child-free forums and sites, this has to be said. Rules may be posted later if deemed necessary.

Anyway, without further ado, let's begin. :)