After one
of those crazy, crazy non-stop afternoons, I walked in and announced that we
should head out to sit outside for dinner. We never go out to eat on weeknights. Tom is rarely done with work
early enough and when he is, we dine at home. My spontaneity elevated the mood
and we were all jubilant before we even left the house.
Stony’s is
one of our favorite casual restaurants. The main draw for me is that Daisy can
tag along since there’s outdoor seating. The main draw for our kids are the
cookie dough milkshakes which are off limits for dairy free Sam. Of course Ben
brings this up immediately and Sam declares that if he can’t have a milkshake then
Ben can’t have one either. Ugh. So much for a carefree evening. I pull Sam aside and tell him he can
have six Oreos (two more than usual) if he’ll let Ben get a shake. No way. How
about seven? Nope. Eight? OK.
So off we go with two handfuls of cookies. And to think I used to believe moms who bribed their kids were evil.
We grab a
table and as we wait for our food, Tom pulls out Pass The Pigs. Remember it
from fraternity nights filled with too much beer? Who knew it could be even
more fun with diet Coke, apple juice, a milkshake and underage kids? We are all
having a blast and Sam is right there with us. He figures out the scoring. He waits his turn. He laughs and
strategizes. He doesn't need to be on a team with me because he can hold his own.
To you,
this may sound like a normal night out with an eight year old. But it’s not
typical for us. In the past, Sam wouldn’t have been focused. He would have walked all
over the restaurant – tripping as he wandered. He couldn't have stopped asking when he'd be allowed to play
video games next. And he would have been so distracted by all of this that he wouldn't have been present with us. It would have been a very different - less fun - night.
I've always suspected that we didn't have all of Sam and I was right. I'm so glad the rest of him
has finally joined our family. It's where he belongs.
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