William Humnicky: Parenting With Pizza

A journey to pick up a pizza shows William Humnicky and his wife how much people value taking breaks. 

As a kid, I will never forget the sense of freedom I felt when I went to the local pizza shop after school for a slice. It was like being on a mini vacation away from my pestering sisters and homework-obsessed parents.

My wife and I have been parents for 12 years. We finally decided that we need some non-parenting time. So, a couple weeks ago, we went to the local pizzeria for dinner, without our kid.

As we sat down at a table, we both noticed a woman our age sitting alone. She ordered a glass of red wine and then, contently surfed on her phone. Later, a waiter placed two boxes of pizza on her table. She paid the bill, but then continued to sit while happily scrolling through her phone.

My wife and I looked at the woman and then at each other.  My wife said to me, “I think that woman came here to pick up pizza for her family, but now that she has the pizza, she is delaying going home.” My wife and I chuckled at the mischievous thought. My wife added, “She is probably texting her partner and kids right now – sorry, the pizza isn’t ready yet.”

Then, another woman our age sat at the adjacent table, ordered a cider and then scrolled through her phone. Midway through our meal, the waiter placed a large box of pizza on her table. She paid for it, but continued to sit, slowly sipping her cider. “Hah,” I exclaimed. “Another parent picking up the pizza.” My wife responded, “Good for her; parents need breaks too, especially moms.”

Of course, we will never know for sure, but our parental intuition told us that those women happily volunteered to pick up the family dinner – pizza – in order to get mini-vacations from parenting.

Now, whenever my wife and I need a break from family life, including each other, all one of us needs to say is, “Let’s eat pizza tonight. I’ll pick it up.”

With a Perspective, I am William Humnicky.

William Humnicky misses impromptu conversations with strangers. He looks forward to hearing your story.