Sanctuary at the Buffet

Aching! My first week at home and I am soooo sore. I mowed the lawn and shampooed the carpet. I cleaned the house. I mean I really, really cleaned the house. Things were moved, heaved, rearranged, restacked, thrown out, polished, and renewed. The cabinet under my sink in the bathroom, aka. land of the lost, is now junk free and organized. Segregation laws now exist under the sink. Lotions and scrubs in one basket, hair dryer and brush in another. The place is echoing with order.

Divina has a new table. Done with the high chair (at least till we give the table a few days try) she will now place herself down to eat. I've witnessed this ability at her school, which her last day is today. I've seen four little people, all under the age of two, with much civility, each place themselves on tiny chairs in front of a table and eat off plates with forks. I know, you are thinking "lie!" but I swear to you the animals can be trained! I first time I saw this I nearly wet myself. She can eat with a fork?! At a table?! On a chair?! My life took on new meaning. So today, Divina will eat her breakfast at her table. I can't wait.

Turning back to yesterday though, Mark and I found a sanctuary amid the grumpy, hurried, grown up world in which we live. The door at Divina's school (I call it school, it's actually day care) dawned a hand written sign that said "Family night at Old Country Buffet Tonight - Kindercare Kids Eat Free!" I ignored the sign but remembered it later when Mark suggested eating out instead of cooking in. We had no idea the wonders that awaited us at the OCB...like the O.C. Bee for instance. On family night the O.C. Bee comes to visit. It's about six feet tall and walks around greeting all the kids and making babies cry. That's got to bee a fun job. Divina was so love struck with the O.C. Bee that she grabed Mark's head and squealed with delight. She kept pointing at him all through dinner as he made his rounds about the restaurant.

She also won a prize. When we first came in some nice girl choose a pink balloon for her from a sea of bulbous colors floating at the entrance. Little did we know, there were numbers written on the top of each bulb and Divina's was a winner. The number 5 was called over the intercom. I was at the buffet and Mark had just settled Divina in her high chair. I could see from across the room the look on his face when he realized that he would have to undo the seat belt and haul her out of the chair and navigate the tables back to the entrance. He had this look of "oh shit, we won a prize." It was priceless. While scooping my potatoes I heard the lady on the intercom say "DIVINA has won a prize, yeah for DIVINA!" It was funny to hear my baby's name spoken so loudly like that, as if anyone there would know who Divina was or that she would think anything at all about her name being spoken over the intercom like that. I was glad Mark was doing the honors as I was safely trudged along the buffet line hiding behind the baked beans. Her prize was "bubbles", a most fitting prize for the queen. Bubbles are one of her favorite things in the world.

We had such a good time at O.C.B. From the momment we walked in the door we were treated as royalty. They even brought the high chair to the table for us (people at restaurants usually just point at the stash and leave you to haul it through the maze of tables and disgruntled costomers.) We got a free pass for one adult for next time. We got a lovely buffet dinner. Most of all, we got to feel welcomed at a restaurant and people anticipated our needs before we had to ask. We vow to attend O.C.B. again...soon.