Last week my husband woke up in a very cheery mood and asked me what we were doing that night.
Exasperated that he hadn't yet got the weekly routine into his head after nearly nine weeks of the school term I reminded him that Thursday night was volleyball.
With a silly grin he then told me that this week was a special Thursday night.
"Duh - it's the grand final so we all have to be there to cheer on Cybergirl," I responded with a heavy note of sarcasm.
He harrumphed off to work and told me to think about what the date actually was.
It wasn't until Cybergirl pulled me aside and reminded me that it was our wedding anniversary that I realised why he was a little put out.
I've never been sentimental and the only dates I recall without prompting are the kids' birthdays and those of very immediate family.
Those other momentous times that happen in a relationship - first date, first kiss, the actual proposal - never enter my radar.
And the date of our wedding was chosen by my husband because it was the birthday of his best friend so he figured he would never forget.
After a quick phone call to wish him happy anniversary, I then had to ask him how many years we had been married.
Like most harried working parents, time seems to have accelerated with the arrival of children and something that happened last month seems like it occurred years ago.
Not that I am saying my marriage has been a chore, but sometimes it is easy to forget that there has been many years in between saying "I do" and the passion of those first few years to the more frequent "not tonight" of the latter ones.
The modern-day mantra of couples with kids seems to be too tired, too grumpy, too fat, too busy, too late - tomorrow.
Anniversaries, birthdays (his because on yours you just want to hide under the covers), New Year's Eve and Valentine's Day are, according to most men I speak with, dates to be looked forward to once you become more than a twosome.
It's not that surprising that many late-in-life children seem to have their birthdays at the end of September after their parents take part in an uncharacteristic alcohol-fuelled celebration. When the gay abandon of seeing one year roll into the next makes them forget that they're not in their 20s anymore and that for every action there is sometimes a very life-changing reaction.
But married-with-kids isn't a death sentence to having a good time. In fact, I can honestly say that in the 15 years I have been married - Cybergirl filled me in on that missing memory - life has become more of a party.
I could never have imagined 17 years ago that someone could still love me after being on the receiving end of my hormonal, irrational outbursts, or that they would still find me as desirable as they did before gravity took its toll and pregnancies left their mark.
Although the unbridled passions may have waxed and waned over the past 15 years, and those little habits you once thought of as endearing are now more of an annoyance, it's comforting to realise that despite the disagreements, and the fall-off in fooling around, that for better or for worse was not just a throwaway line.
And my empty-nester friends tell me that things only get better when the house is your own once again, and there's no need to wait up until midnight when you're certain the kids are all asleep.
Keeli Cambourne is a South Coast journalist trying to find the perfect life/work balance.
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