i went to dinner the other day, nice restaurant, had a grreeaatt dinner, great company, good wine, all the makings of a lovely evening...
except..there was this kid that kept whining and crying. so it's mother thought it would be a great idea to walk the baby AROUND THE RESTAURANT, and let it crawl ALL OVER THE STAIRS.
ugh...
this is one of my hugest pet peeves. luckily we were sitting far enough away on this particular evening that it wasn't too bothersome. but seriously. what person wants you to pace by them thirty five times with your drooling whiny baby as they're trying to enjoy their steak au poivre?? (which by the way was phenomenal). and as a person who has waited tables many times throughout her life, i can assure you that its incredibly annoying as well as dangerous to have ankle biters roaming the aisles, trying to touch you, playing with chopsticks, and dumping shit all over the place.
i used to work for this guy who used to tell us that we needed to be nice to the people with kids because everyone deserves to go out for a nice meal and receive good service. and you know what? he's right. everyone does deserve to be able to go out for a nice meal and receive good service. unfortunately when your kid is screaming in the middle of the restaurant, NO ONE around you is enjoying their meal. they are also probably not receiving good service, because the server is probably busy trying to get you crackers or crayons to help you shut your kid up. crackers or crayons, i might add, that you asked for as if the world would end if you didnt get them RIGHT AWAY, and will probably eventually end up crushed and on the floor. and you will not pick them up of course. no need to be considerate when you have a baby! after all, the world revolves around you, right?
i remember if my brother or i would ever misbehave in a restaurant, my parents would take us out of there immediately. we would have to stay outside or in the car until everyone else had finished. we learned quickly that going out was a priviledge, and that if we wanted to be included, that we had to act accordingly. uh, why do people not still know this?!??
perhaps jonathan swift was on the right track. but until we can start eating babies, how about you just leave them at home? because at the end of the day, i'd like to enjoy my overpriced glass of sonoma cutrer in freakin' peace. thanks.
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you would think the parents would be embarrassed. i dont have a kid, obviously, but i feel like i would have the same reaction that i have when my grandma decides to complain about her food and have it sent back - which is hiding my face in my blueberry vodka and club soda with a lime. Walking the kid around the restaurant????!?! are you crazy?!?! as soon as my kid started crying i would not want anyone to know it was mine. When i bring little Peyton out to restaurants in the future and he decides to whine or cry, I will simply say (behind my blueberry vodka and club with lime), "you are embarrassing mommy. now quietly play with your football and think about how u r gonna make mommy millions of dollars when your older, or ill trade you in for a little black boy from the ghetto." by the way, have you seen the blindside? its really good.
ReplyDeletelittle peyton will reply with, 'shut the fuck up mommy, i wanna be a ballerina'. i havent seen that but i just watched new moon with the residents. word.
ReplyDeleteMy mom taught us the same thing. Every outing was a priveledge, whether that was dinner out or a trip to the grocery store, that would be completely revoked if we misbehaved. I'm pretty sure that we were terrified that we'd be punished in public the way other kids did. I believe that parent's deserve a nice meal too - but like you said, get a baby sitter and enjoy the time with your spouse instead of trying to have a nice meal and keep the kids from crawling up the walls at the same time. I think I have a pretty high tolerance for kids in restaurants, but there's a fine line when it comes to appropriate behavior in public.
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