Real Moms. Real Marriage: Scheduling is Sexy
By Kathi Lipp

Whenever I’m on an airplane, I indulge in one of my secret shames: reading People magazine. For the price of a Grande Latte at Starbucks, I can get caught up on the lives of my favorite (and not so favorite) celebrities.

What always amazes me is how seemingly spontaneous all the celebs are. Do they not have piano practice to get their kids to? Or appointments with their holistic nutritionists that need to be kept? But when you’re Jay-Z and Beyonce, you can jet off to a tropical location at a moment’s notice. Or if you’re Tom and Katie, apparently you can just fly off to Italy last minute. Feel like snuggling up with your main squeeze to watch Titanic? If you’re Justin, you can rent out the entire Staples center for a private screening. How over-the-top romantic is that?

I know that I’ve fantasized about being whisked off my feet and taken somewhere there are no kids, no housework and someone is serving me chocolate-dipped strawberries. But the reality is, if we are going to let our husbands know that all those stars on magazine covers are airbrushed to within an inch of their toddler-size waist’s lives and rarely have any factory original parts left, we need to understand that those fantasy dates are not real either. Those men have teams of assistants, schedulers, handlers, and most importantly, nannies, to “handle things.”

There is very little spontaneity in those “last-minute” trips. And why am I getting romantic ideas from celebrities, anyway? I need to be reminded that the average celebrity marriage lasts about the same amount of time that cupcakes were trendy. Oh, didn’t you read in People that fritters are the new cupcakes?

But, do you know what I’ve finally discovered is romantic after all these years of being married?
Predictability.

Some people may call it being stuck in a rut. Fine. Maybe I like a good rut since my kids’ lives provide all the excitement I need. (Will we get to school on time? Is everyone fully dressed in the back of the van? How many permissions slips did I forget to send into school today?) There’s a sense of security knowing that certain things are going to happen when it comes to the man in my life:

• I love knowing that my husband and I are going to have a date once a week at one of our four favorite chain restaurants and then come home and watch “The Princess Bride” (for the 23rd time.)
  
• I love knowing that my husband knows not to get “creative” with my Starbucks order.
  
• I love knowing that the whole house doesn’t have to be spotless for him to feel comfortable. As long as he can find the remote and there’s a bag of microwave popcorn available, he’s a happy man.
  

There is something super sexy about the comfort of knowing that Friday is “Fiesta Night” at your home, and that you both are actually looking forward to those chicken tacos.

Let the celebrities romance in all their exotic locations. I’ll take Chinese food and “Romancing the Stone” any day.





Kathi Lipp is the author of The “What’s for Dinner?” Solution and several other books. Check out her ideas for keeping the fun (and scheduling) in your marriage at kathilipp.com.