Are We Lame?

I sat outside with some friends on the Legal Seafood Patio after work on Friday. They made plans for the rest of their evenings -- some were heading to a bar to watch the Bruins game, others were off to celebrate a birthday at a Mexican restaurant -- and I sat there, wistfully. "Oh, cool, thanks for the invite," I joked.

The response from my friend, Caitlin: "Well, you're just going to go home and read with your wife anyway!"

Ouch. But she was right. (Well, she would have been right on most nights. Last night, we actually did go out for a bit.) The meaning of "read," of course, changes from time to time. We watch a few shows on Hulu, sit through an occasional movie, write blog posts, browse the Web, peruse magazines, and take online courses. And we talk a lot. But on most weekday nights (yes, including Friday), that's pretty much the routine.

My question: Are we lame?

We usually go to bed between 10-11 and don't exactly go nuts on the weekend. I remember talking to another friend of mine (this one, a younger female colleague) about the night they captured those assclowns with the bombs.

"Even we went out last night," I said to her the next day. "You would have been proud. We didn't even go out until, like, 9:30."

"What time did you get home?" she asked.

"A little before 12."

"That," she said, "is when I went out."

My question, again: Are we lame?

We still go to concerts, still hang out with friends and family, and still go out for dinners. But we don't really care for bars. The idea of going to a local alehouse in Boston until 2 AM (like the good, old days!) is about as appetizing as eating seafood from Taco Bell. Crowds? No, thanks. Loud music? We'd rather not. Dancing? Ha.

To be honest, I'm not sure I even remember what a hangover feels like.

My question, one more time: Are we lame?

Now, of course, this has a fair amount to do with our little bundle of joy. She's due in 14 weeks, but she's already changed our lives in enormous ways. There is a lot of "can't" and "don't" in Bridget's life now, including booze and her beloved soft cheeses. Last year's vacations included Ireland, California, Colorado, France, and Mexico. This year? A full month of unimaginable sleep deprivation here in lovely Cambridge. (Tickets, I believe, are still available if you want to join us.)

So yeah, reading through all of this before I hit publish, we do seem pretty lame. But doesn't everyone eventually get lame? And doesn't lame, eventually, just turn into happiness?

I hope so because I really do like reading with my wife.