It has been our tradition for many years now that when it’s time for my wife and I to file our income tax returns at H&R Block, we invite my parents up for the weekend to watch the kids.

Our reward for getting through “math for adults”, as our daughter calls it, is we head over to Marshall’s to “see if there might be anything we might want”. Spoiler alert: We always find some things we want at Marshall’s.

And when I say “we”, I mainly main “I”. When it comes to bargain-buying new clothes, nice shoes, and fancy soaps, I’m pretty much the worst.

From there, we drive about 25 minutes, right outside of the “exciting night life” of Nashville, and instead, we enjoy a nice, quiet early dinner at a restaurant without kids.

This past weekend, we tried a place for the first time called Coal Town Public House. Whereas most men in this situation would probably order an expensive steak and a strong cocktail, I stuck with my night-on-the-town go-to of shrimp and grits, then opted for a non-alcoholic craft beer that instantly became my new favorite brewery, Athletic Brewing Company.

Because honestly, that is what I truly enjoy more than the real stuff at this point in my life.

Of course, with our upcoming move to Alabama this May, I realized this would make the last time we would do our “income tax/Saturday night dinner” tradition here in Tennessee.

Once we move, we will live 0.2 miles from my sister. It is an unspoken understanding that our kids, who happen to be the same ages, will be “house swapping” on a regular basis: No need for someone to watch the kids… the kids simply head down the street to their cousin’s house and vice versa.

With that being said, I am confident that my wife and I will continue our tradition once we move to Fort Payne.

So yes, this is my life. I am happy. There’s nothing like a kids-free early dinner after doing taxes, shopping at Marshall’s, and then enjoying shrimp and grits with non-alcoholic beer.

This is 42.