The First Time I Got Stood Up

Before I got married I had the insecure fear that most girls have at one time or another -- that my dates would stand me up. That we'd make plans, I'd get all gussied up for a night out, and he would sneak off with his buddies and laugh about the joke he had played on me, leaving me to cry alone in my prom dress.

Luckily that never happened to me - until last night, when it sort of did.

Instead of buying each other expensive gifts for Valentine's Day this year, my husband and I decided to take ourselves out. I asked my son's new daycare teacher if she would babysit, she agreed to be here at 5 p.m. and we left it at that. Stupidly I didn't bother getting her phone number (or, in truth, her last name), and made plans for the night.

We were psyched. We don't get to go out that often because babysitters are expensive, so at best we do it every couple of months or when my mother offers to spend the night. So we planned a fun night of dinner, bowling and drinks. We cleaned up the house, got the kids ready for a night with a new babysitter, got dressed, and waited.

And waited and waited and waited.

For some reason, she never showed. At first we thought she had misunderstood the time and was going to come at 5:30 instead of 5, but then it was 6 p.m., then it was 6:30 p.m., and then we knew the night was over.

So, we made the best of it. We ate leftover pizza, watched a movie and went to bed. In the end we probably saved about $100 or more by staying in, but it was still a drag.

Maybe she had a good reason. Maybe her own kids got sick. Maybe she rang our doorbell and we didn't hear it. Maybe she thought we meant Sunday and will show up tonight. Who knows.

At least I wasn't wearing a prom dress.