date with the little man

Last night I took River with me on an errand about 20 minutes away from home. We had a good time singing ABCs with his favorite car toy, Radio Letras. When we got there, I saw a restaurant I’ve been wanting to try for a while. It’s closed on Sundays, when is usually when we’d have time to go so far to try something new. I knew it wasn’t cheap and my husband doesn’t appreciate fancier food. River does. So I had the idea of perhaps going out with River.

So I asked River if he’d like to have a dinner date. “Okay!” Then I had to see if the restaurant would take our party of 1.5 They did, sitting us in a far corner, which I think was a good precaution. Even so, I was a bit nervous by the other clientele – all of whom were middle aged and nicely dressed, dining in couples, and located very close to us.

Luckily, it went off without a hitch. River colored, we chatted, I took him to the bathroom and we both enjoyed our dinner. Roasted chicken with green beans and mashed potatoes for him. Monkfish wrapped in bacon with cauliflower and roasted peppers for me. Yum.

Our last “date” was when he was 16 months old, when we went out for Thai. That also went well – he learned how to use a fork and to give five over a single dinner and he won over the waitresses. But this time, the welcome by customers and staff was more wary. And he’s a little person now, that I can communicate with. It’s such a nice feeling to have a little buddy with whom I can both participate in kid activities and take him along with me as I try something I’d like to do.