Dating Again

I am dating again. Hand holding, kiss on the cheek, take me to dinner (or lunch) and a movie kind of dating. But, it's not as traditional as it sounds--my date wasn't with Brad. It was with someone else. Brad and I are happily married still and aren't into that open relationship kind of stuff--but we are dating another person. For awhile now Brad and Dev have been going out together and doing some great stuff. I decided now that Reesie is older and can handle being away from me for longer periods of time, I want to go out and do fun stuff with Dev too. I want to spend some quality time with just him, where I don't have to tell him no, I can't do something for/with him because I have to do ________ for/with Reese first. So today we went on a date. He was so excited to go with just mommy. He kept asking if Reese was coming and when I said no, he smiled so big. That may sound like it is a rude thing, to not want her to come, but I don't see it that way at all. Dev has been sharing his little world now for 8.5 months. Not once has he ever complained, or said something mean, bad, or resentful about his sister. He just loves her. He is the best big brother. He makes sure she is always take care of. I know he gets frustrated that he isn't always first anymore, but he has never said anything bad or acted negatively because of it. I was happy to see him happy that we would have alone time together. I have been wanting to do something with just him for a long time. I get concerned about him and his feelings and want him to feel valued and loved. So anyway, our date: We went to Shrek 3. He was so cute. He sat right by me and told me I was his date, but that I didn't have a date because "Brad stayed at home." Yes, he called Brad by his first name. It was really funny. He even held my hand. We had a really great time and I loved being able to connect with my 3 year old with no distractions again. I think we are going to make this a weekly thing. We both need it. It feels good to be dating.