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On Thursdays



Having grown up in Vancouver, Thursdays are for me the start of the weekend. 

When I lived in Vancouver, Thursdays were great days for meeting up with coworkers at one of the swanky downtown pubs after work, leaving Friday nights wide open for other possibilities...

Thursday nights were also the funnest nights to go to some of the best night clubs.  You would go around eleven without having to wait in a line, visit with friends, dance until two, eat a hot dog at the gourmet hot dog stand around the corner, walk home and a few hours later, showered and dressed in your Friday casual wear you'd walked to work, with a double shot latte at hand. 

If you didn't live in Vancouver you may find this odd.  But downtown Vancouver is a walkable, safe, lovely cluster of apartment buildings, beaches, restaurants, office buildings, spas, night clubs, gyms, cafes and shops.  It's heaven on earth for young urban professionals.  I feel lucky to have been young and in Vancouver once upon a time. 

Anyways, even now that I am mom and a wife in Silicon Valley (a place that is neither suburban nor urban - as a matter of fact a new word needs to be coined for Silicon Valley lifestyle - topic of another blog altogether), the Thursday night celebratory mood is held sacred in my soul. 

Pre-UrbanBaby, I used to diligently pursue Mr. Urban to meet up for Thursday night after-work drinks at the one happening cafe nearby (that was pre-Google IPO, now there are like eight more options).  

The term "after-work" is such a fuzzy one in the Silicon Valley lexicon, and certainly not one that falls on an hour in the remote vicinity of Happy Hour by any stretch of my imagination.

Mr. Urban was too cool for words to tell me exactly what he thought of Thursday night after-work drinks.  But there were clues.  He would usually start our Happy Hour with "Sorry I'm so late, I had to sneak out of a very important meeting".  He would usually opt for a caffeinated beverage or an energizing juice instead of a cocktail or red wine, California's equivalent of cocktails.  And within an hour, he would put his arm around me, or put his hand gently on my hand, smile and in a chipper voice declare "I better get back to the office so I can be home early".   And who could stand a chance against that smile? 

Post UrbanBaby, I still work hard to set the right expectations regarding this matter.  Whether it's Thursday Nights Los Altos Farmers market stroll and fresh farm dinner on the patio from May to September, wine and a special new recipe at CasaUrban's kitchen counter during the colder months, or a special outing to the Rosewood for a fancy cocktail and expensive sliders, we do our best to keep the ritual alive.

What traditions do you cherish to keep the vibe alive in your family life?
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