I told myself that I deserved to have just one meal that I could enjoy in peace. So when I had the opportunity to eat dinner without Tyler I wasn’t going to alter my plans unless it was an emergency. So when my phone rang as I pulled into the parking lot of the Best Western Hotel in New Orleans to have dinner at the newly remodeled Sassafras Restaurant, I answered said phone with a mixture of panic and annoyance.
When I found out that he really didn’t want anything I was relieved. When Tyler passed the phone to his father and after chatting for a minute, I heard him say to Tyler, “Did you say you want to go back to the hotel?” I couldn’t believe it! Before I knew what was happening I barked into the phone that he was just going to have to stay where he was because my sister and I had just gotten to the restaurant and we were about to have dinner. I didn’t realize that I was talking loud and apparently very angrily until the concierge looked over at me. I was standing there pleading my case as I yelled into the phone. “I deserve at least one meal that I can eat in peace! Do you know how overly active he has been these last few days? He has been all over the place.”
Tyler’s father then told him that he was going to have to wait until we finished eating and then he would bring him back to the hotel. He was okay with that. Of course, as a caring, concerned mom I would have told him to bring Tyler on over to the restaurant and I would have tried to have the best meal I could have had considering he would have been climbing over the table. However, I am glad that I had the chance to eat at a nice restaurant with real linen table cloths and little glass-enclosed lights on each table. Fine dining as opposed to family-friendly. Not that there’s anything wrong with family-friendly but as a single parent experiences like these are rare. So I enjoyed my night out without Tyler. Did I feel guilty? Not one little bit.
P.S. I was thoughtful enough to bring him a bowl of gumbo for his dinner!
See also:
Giving Kids Our Full Attention
Teaching Kids to Amuse Themselves