For almost seven years, I went to the same quiz night at the same pub every month. It was a lovely quiz, hosted by a wonderful man named Martin.
But once I had my second child, going became trickier. Sleepless nights and all the other chaos that comes with a newborn meant evenings out required military-level planning and, frankly, I was too tired.
One member of our team changed jobs and became less available. Another had a baby not long after me, so she was wrapped up in all the same newborn chaos that I was.
And somehow, we just never got back into the habit of going.
It’s a long quiz, too. Old-fashioned paper and pens, marking each other’s answers, scores added up as you go along. No apps or screens. Just scribbled answers and whispered debates about capital cities and 90s one-hit wonders.
It’s so popular that tables fill up quickly, so you have to arrive early to grab a decent spot, and it often finishes late because of the number of teams involved.
One of the guys on our team used to dash over straight from work, sometimes arriving halfway through a round.
We’d sit there hoping there wouldn’t been any sports or flag questions before he got there because that was his thing.
I miss him.
Recently, I’ve been getting my quiz fix elsewhere. The new quiz runs weekly, which makes it much easier to find a date that works.
Tables can be booked, so I can put the kids to bed before heading out and know there’ll be a space for us.
And there’s hot food too, so I can grab a bite to eat if I’ve managed to feed everyone but myself.
I love it.
But sometimes it feels like I’m cheating on my old quiz. I miss the banter with the quizmaster, the staff I’d known for years, the lovely cocktails, and the Martin affectionately referring to us as his favourite team.
I actually hosted a quiz night instead of having a birthday party for my 30th, so maybe that’s why I’m reflecting on this now, with the big 4-0 looming in the suddenly closer than I thought future.
Life changes, and that’s okay. Different doesn’t have to mean better to still be good. In the thick of motherhood, especially with a toddler, I’ll take a fun night out wherever I can find it. I’m so grateful for a husband and a wider village of relatives who make that possible.
I suppose this is really just a reflection on my old life. The pre-kids version of me, when hangovers weren’t quite so brutal and one extra cocktail didn’t mean facing the morning with a slightly fuzzy head and a small human who doesn’t care how late you stayed up.
I’m not entirely sure what I hoped to gain from writing this. Maybe it’s a little self-indulgent. Maybe a bit dull to anyone else.
But sometimes it helps just to write things down, to give thoughts and feelings a place to land, even if they don’t matter in the grand scheme of things.
Anyway, back to writing for me. And back to working on my very own quiz website.