Several years ago, I remember completing one of those "all about you" questionnaires that friends pass around. I came across the question asking for biggest pet peeve. Surely I pondered for a moment, but I settled on "kids screaming in restaurants". For the life of me, as a single woman with no kids, I could not understand why "those people" would choose to dine out, knowing the possibility their child could break out into screams at any time, much to the annoyance of diners like me, who had come for some peace, quiet and relaxation in addition to a good meal. Fast forward several years, and yes, I've joined the ranks of "those people". It hit me while the kids were being less than cooperative at a recent restaurant outing. Drew was climbing all over the place and not at all happy. As I picked him up for a quick stroll of the bar, I received a few disdaining looks. Regardless, we still take the kids out to eat; usually about once a week. Why? Because parents need breaks too, someone to serve them and cook for them. I suppose we could get a babysitter, but sometimes it is a last minute decision to head out for dinner. And guess what, sometimes the kids are complete angels and also enjoy the time away from home! We have even received compliments on occasion on how well behaved our children were while dining. It's just not always easy to predict the outcome. So we go, knowing that if things ever go too sideways, we will make a quick exit.
Here are pictures from a restaurant encounter last month, probably one of our worst. And I'll blame the restaurant, one of which we have no reason to return. First off, there was a much longer than normal wait (at least for the type of restaurants we now frequent with the kids). The restaurant had recently re-opened, so I certainly understand it would be crowded to no fault of the staff. But, we waited at least a half hour to seat three adults, two toddlers and an infant, while literally everyone that came in after us was seated. We easily could have sat at a table for four with two high chairs on the ends. But, here are the kids in the waiting area. Our friend Matt and his son Jordan joined us. At this point, Drew and Bree were happy to eat their snacks and keep an eye on Jordan.
Jordan and his babysitters
No luck on the standard table for four. Instead we got a huge booth with more seating that we needed and no room for high chairs whatsoever. But of course we took it, because we already waited long enough.
I did mention sometimes the kids will pleasantly surprise you and be angelic at the restaurant. Well, we did get to experience some of that, just not with our kids! Jordan visited a while, took his bottle and took a nap while the rest of us waited for our food. Perfect angel!
Matt and Mini-Matt
Not only was seating slow, service was slow, and it took FOREVER for the food to arrive. And, dare I say it was nothing to write home about? There is really only so much you can ask of toddlers. So I almost couldn't blame Drew and Bree for climbing the walls by the time we were ready to leave. Here is Drew at the end of the ordeal. He insisted on taking his shirt off and getting on the table for a better reach of all the untouchables there. I guess we were too tired to care at this point!
So, did this keep us away from the restaurants? Nope - not for a second! But, we will always prefer to frequent noisy restaurants with fast service and lots of other children (for now). I guess I have come to accept the inevitable. I have crossed over to the other side. And as long as you keep your sense of humor intact, the view is pretty good!
