Yeah, so this happened...

At tea-break in work:

"So, " said KfW2 "That date we agreed on is out. I'm out with the hubby for his birthday."

"OK" What was I going to say? I know his birthday is about now.

"It gets tricky though. That weekend is his birthday, the week after that we're doing lunch and the week after that is my friend's hen weekend"

I must have sighed, or had a look on my face or something. She continued:

"It's not that bad. We were out last weekend and we're out next month too" (with the same people we were out with last weekend).

I hadn't told her, but I wasn't planning on going out with those people next month. It was nice as an infrequent thing, but I'm not sure I want to do it on a monthly basis. Plus, this was me taking her out for her birthday. Just the two of us. The last time it was just the two of us was her birthday two years ago. And the time before that when it wasn't a special occasion, I can't actually remember. I do know that I've been trying to get her out for around a year.

"We could do the end of this month" she offered.

But I know she's already committed to a spa day out with CC and a few others on that weekend and with her money being tight, that'll be that.

She knows that I value our time together and she knows that I don't think that group events or helping her look after the kids are a replacement. I'm happy to do them, but if the cost of that is that the irregular nights out are gone, I don't like the price I am paying.

As I said recently, there's a completely different vibe when it's just the two of us alone, and especially on "neutral" ground of the pub or in my house with no prying ears. It must be the alcohol because it's not there on a day-to-day basis when we have lunch together for example.

I'm not even angry. I'm just disappointed and tired.