3 little Miracles

3 little Miracles

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Dinner out and a Cranky Man


Last night we went out to eat at Panera Bread with out family to celebrate my niece Calli's graduation from high school and receiving some academic awards and scholarships.  We arrived very early in the dinner hour so we could beat the crowds and get a large table together.  Of course my 2 little Boys were with us, and in their excitement of being out with the family, they may have been a smidge loud, but nothing totally out of range, and at the end of the meal D wanted to visit the other end of the table and talk to his Uncle Calvin so we let him.


About 15 minutes into us being there, this couple arrived and sat in a booth adjacent to our large table, but I could see on the mans face that he wasn't happy, I just figured he wasn't having a good day and I kinda ignored him.  We made it through most of our dinner and the boys had finished their meals so Davey was up and socializing with his uncle and cousin.  Then I saw the man get up to go get his meal at the counter and on his way back to the table, my mother was standing, chatting, and taking pictures. The man stood behind her giving her an evil look and never said a thing, I said "Mom that man would like to get by", and she moved saying "oh pardon me, I am sorry."  About 5 minutes after the man sat down my oldest niece stands up and says we all need to leave NOW.  I have no idea what happened but started putting pieces together when after she left and we were still hanging out my sister and other two nieces phones started going nuts with text.
(you can see in this picture, the cranky man is not yet seated near us.  
they were at the booth on the left behind my mother)
J sharing his cookie with his Aunt Bubbie (my sister April)
D sharing his chips with his cousin Hilary

Apparently, my oldest niece Cassandra overheard the man say "They are lucky I am in a good mood, or I would start throwing things" and I think she may have heard something else that she didn't share, because she was really ticked.  I text'd her back and told her I appreciated her being angry on our behalf, but we weren't going to cut our family celebration short because he made the CHOICE to sit near our large group.  We were literally so early that there MAY have been 1-2 other families or couples there, so when he came in he and his wife could have sat anywhere he didn't have to sit near our large group that was already fully into dinner, chatting among ourselves, and the boys being boys.

ON our way out I apologized to another booth near us saying, "sorry if we were too loud".  The lady said to me, "no problem I thought your children were very well behaved for their age."  Which means she too had heard what the man said and didn't think we deserved he negative attitude. My sister stopped by Cranky Man's table and said, "I hope you have a nice evening".  The man is lucky my MoG and I didn't hear what he had to say about our children, we wouldn't have used cuss words or thrown things like the man, but we would have had some words to say to him.  As it is, we had a lovely evening with our family with the exception of the Cranky Man.  I don't know, maybe the poor man had a really bad day and was looking forward to a quiet dinner out with his wife, and I am sorry if he had a bad day.  But I just don't think it is every appropriate for anyone to make rude comments about another group at a restaurant loud enough for that group to hear, or to make rude comments about someone else's kids.
Calli's Graduation Dinner
I am thrilled for my niece Calli and her graduation tomorrow night.  She is turning a corner of life, where she will face adult decisions in life, and I completely believe she is ready for it, even though I still think of her as a young girl.  It has been a busy month and a half of graduations, first my niece Hilary from college, then my sister April graduated and got her RN, then Davey graduated preschool, and now our dear Calli graduating high school.  What a joy it is to celebrate life's moments with my family and no Cranky Man is going to steal it from us ;-).

4 comments:

  1. People can be so rude at times, I'm sorry he said those things but am happy you just let it slide and enjoyed your time anyways.
    My son graduated this past week also and his open house was Sunday. Love having all our friends and family wish him well and the fellowship was so terrific.
    Thanks for sharing. Have a great afternoon and God Bless!!!

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  2. I'm sorry you had a run in with a mean guy! I agree, he could have sat anywhere else...they CHOSE to sit next to you guys!

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  3. Looks like you had a fabulous time despite Mr. Cranky Pants! :)

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  4. Some people can be so rude. I feel like some people think kids shouldn't be allowed out in this world. Kids will be kids and that's that! We deal with it . . we are only kids once so we enjoy it and embrace it. Panera isn't this mega fancy sit down restaurant where you get all dressed up. Its laid back and casual . . If you want to stand and chat so be it and if you want to get a little loud go for it :)

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