What a gorgeous day we had today! Leila and I enjoyed a beautiful drive to historic
Leesburg, VA to meet one of her buddies for lunch at
Lightfoot Restaurant. Little did we know this was the furthest from kid friendly her mom and I could have picked. As we waited to be seated, the gleam of a full service place setting seemed to glare at us from each table. This would be ok, Taylor's mom is also new to motherhood...AND expecting again (crazy girl!)...so obviously she has no fear.
So, we were seated. In the corner. At the back of the restaurant. Where the 4.5 of us, our diaper bags, teethers and annoyingly excited to have gotten out of the house selves, couldn't bother anyone. Because, it seems that once you have a baby any waiter/waitress who thinks they will have to wait on you also thinks you have the plague.
The next hour went seamlessly. The girls were quiet as could be, didn't drop a thing on the floor...they would have brightened anyone's day. With the exception of our waitress. She must have been in her late 30's/early 40's...and she barely broke a smile from the moment she greeted us. Maybe she was upset she would be inconvenienced by having to reach over the girls to give us our food?? Did my friend and I epitomise everything she resented? I don't know. Maybe I should have told her that I haven't been out of the house without pear smudged all over my shirt in days so this was a special treat, DON'T RUIN IT lady!
As we exited the restaurant, other customers literally stopped and said they didn't even realize there were kids in the resaurant...they smiled and commented on their sweet demeanors too.
"Uh oh, Taylor. They caught us talking about them."
"Nuh, Nuh, Nuh, Nuh, NO. It was nothing bad!"
"We were talking about how you are the most fabulous mommies EVER. Just sayin'"
After lunch, I couldn't help but think how much better our experience would have been had she been friendly with us and our babies. The power of positive thinking! It really does make a difference...our waitress could have used a dose.
What I learned from today: You can't expect everyone to react to your children the way you would. Just because you think they are perfect (which they are)..some people see them as a nuisence. And, if you are a waiter/waitress your tip will reflect that.