Chaos at Dinner Can Result in a Warmed Heart

By Guest Blogger Whitney Webster

I am a mother of 14 month old twins and a 3 1/2 year old daughter. My life can be fulfilling, comical, exhausting, and blessed all in a matter of minutes. Usually on the weekends we go out for lunch but most of the time we stay on for dinner. The kids are normally getting tired by dinner time, and overall it is not a good experience if we dine out. But, this past Saturday we decided to venture out. As usual, it was a production.

We picked one of our favorite Mexican restaurants. We got a table, because a booth does not really work with two high chairs. With 14 month old twins it is hard to eat out because the table always seems too small and that there is nowhere to put all the food and drinks without little hands getting in them. My husband, Jason and I are constantly moving drinks and food out of the way so that they do not end up on the floor.

We order our food and thankfully I have snacks for the twins, Miles and Finn, because they act like they are starving. Ava Glynn immediately has to go to the bathroom once we order so we take trip one to the restroom. We come back to the table and the floor is already a mess. There are Cheese-Its and chips all over the place. The waiter brings our food and AG immediately has to go to the bathroom again. We go again and come
back.

When we return, I cut up the boy’s cheese quesadilla and Ava Glynn has to go to the bathroom yet again. Yes, it is a game, but I am afraid if I don’t let her go that she will have an accident. This time Jason goes with her and waits outside.

In the meantime, Miles has proceeded to throw all of his quesadilla on the ground along with his paci and his Sippy cup. I am trying to pick everything up while Finn is using his hands to push his highchair off the table and rock back and forth. This is his new favorite thing to do while we are out. Jason and I then switch where the boys are sitting so that I can put my foot on Finn’s high chair so he doesn’t flip over.

By this point, I am exhausted and am wondering why we choose to do this to ourselves time and time again.

As we are finishing up, a lady at the table next to us comes over and tells us she picked up our bill. I was surprised, touched, and thankful all at once. I told her she did not have to do that and she said she wanted to.

As we were leaving I went over and thanked her. She said she had grandchildren and knew how hard it could be on parents sometimes and that she thought we would brave being out with all three.

I am not sure what made her do it, but it was one of the nicest things a stranger has even done for us. They didn’t know us and yet then paid it forward and bought our meal. The whole time we were at dinner that night I was so worried that we were bothering everyone and concerned about the mess the boys were making. Once this happened, all I could do was be thankful. It is the little things that touch the heart and often make the biggest difference.