A RealFamilies RealFun Blog

Jul 14 2008

Strand by strand

Category: Come and Get It

It was one of those Friday evenings that I hated to leave the house. We had a refrigerator bursting with leftovers, and I wasn't in the mood to eat out. The previous evening Paul and I experienced the most expensive and decadent meal we'd ever had at one of Denver's top restaurants.

Perched above Boulder, we sipped cocktails and gazed over the city below, while our host consulted with the sommelier on the wine selection. Except for a delicious cheese plate, everything I ate came with a sliver of pan seared fois gras. Paul had buffalo Wellington (also with fois gras) and I had sweet meats and raw tuna. (I'm an adventurous eater.) It was a lovely evening among adults, with no kids needing our attention or assistance.

Twelve hours later my hangover was finally gone, and my appetite somewhat reappeared. But if it wasn't for having to go to Office Depot to pick up supplies for a weekend project, I'd be home enjoying some toast and tea. I wasn't up to the challenge of eating a full meal yet.

I arranged for Paul to meet us at a nearby restaurant. He wasn't hungry either after the previous evening's festivities and a lunch time birthday celebration for a coworker. Still the kids had to be fed no matter what or we'd have a mutiny on our hands.

We were seated at a patio table surrounded by young people partying after a long day at work. Paul and I studied the menu for something light, while Nathan and Lucie drank soft drinks and colored. The waitress took our orders, lasagna for Paul (he considered that a light meal for some reason), a salad for me, and a kid's pizza for Nathan. Then it was Lucie's turn to order. Usually, she doesn't eat much when we go out, preferring to pick off my plate or to snack on a side order of French fries. But tonight she surprised us. When read the kid's meal choices to her, she chose spaghetti AND a meatball. I was convinced that we'd end up taking most of it home.

Our order came quickly. Nathan picked at his pizza and had to be nagged at to sit and eat. With him, it was a few bites here and there. Then he had a long drink of soda, followed by an attack of ants in the pants. He talked and talked and talked. Then he got out of his chair, jumped around a bit, and ran off to the bathroom (with a stop at the video machines). By the time he came back, the pizza was cold. Paul soon grew impatient with Nathan's monkey behavior, and sternly instructed him to sit his butt down and eat.

Lucie was ravenous, digging into her spaghetti with gusto, and practically inhaled the gigantic meatball. However, she slowed down while sucking up the almost foot long spaghetti noodles. Realizing she'd quickly be covered in sauce, Lucie asked me for her bib before things got too messy.

I wiped her face and hands off at regular intervals, and snuck my fork into her plate to cut up the noodles, hoping to speed her up. Slowly the spaghetti disappeared. By the time she was halfway through, we we're finished with our food. Our leftovers were boxed up and the bill was paid. Then Paul reached over to put her meal in a container

Lucie exploded, "Hey, Dad! I'M NOT DONE YET!"

Slowly attacked by Nathan's ants in the pants (who knew it was contagious?) we not-so-patiently watched Lucie eat the rest of her spaghetti. She had our undivided attention and relished every torturous, strand by tomato sauce covered strand.