Sunday was a busy day. Normally I like to keep things simple on Sundays. We get up and get ready for church, go to church, then return home and pretty much just relax for the rest of the day. Getting in a nap is a bonus.
This past Sunday though was a bit different. Our (former) neighbors invited us to pose for some photos that we might be able to use for a Christmas card photo. The husband works for a company that sells, well, OK, I cannot really describe what exactly he or his company does but there is a showroom of the things that they sell and they are perfect for posing in front of for pictures. I snapped a few pics with my new cell phone…
There were tons of Christmas trees. Short ones, tall ones, skinny ones, pink ones, blue ones, etc.
There were tons of decorations as well. I could have taken 100 photos probably and still not got them all I think.
Did I mention there were a lot of decorations? Anyway, we posed for a few photos and then waited on the other families that had joined us there to finish there pictures as well and then we headed back home.
Actually no, we did not head home, we headed toward home but stopped for a very late lunch with the families that joined us for the photos. There were 3 families and 13 of us all in total (plus one 8 month old infant).
Let me stop here for a moment and let you know that I really hate eating out with a big party. I always feel like we are inconveniencing the restaurant, the wait staff and probably the other patrons. I usually let all this ruin it for me and cannot really think of a time that I enjoyed a time out with a large group of people at a restaurant. My wife just laughs at me but it really is stressful to me.
The largest table this restaurant had only seated 12 and so we had a problem. There were suggestions of a kid’s table and there were enough older kids to pull this off. This is one of the reasons I do not like eating with a large group, it takes too long to make a decision. Then to my surprise a dad (not me) piped up with a suggestion of a dad’s table. There were 3 dads and if we got our own table then the table of 12 would work just fine for the balance of our party.
I laughed at first at this suggestion. I mean, come on! There is no way my wife would go for this (and probably why the thought never entered my mind). But, the other wives did not balk at the idea immediately and I began to get my hopes up a little. I was in uncharted territory here but if this thing actually happened I could see it becoming a tradition. There was a lot at stake here and I waited nervously for it all to play out.
The weak link here was the 3rd dad (not me and not the one who suggested this idea). This 3rd dad had 3 kids (including the previously mentioned infant). He was truly the weakest link here and all our dad hopes were riding on his wife’s reaction. To our joy she conceded and allowed us to find a nearby table for 3.
We had a great time. We talked about our work, fatherhood, sports (a little) and really had a good time. The kids did well enough at the big table to allow us to enjoy our appetizer and meals in peace. I kept a wary eye on the infant and (more importantly) the face of the mother of the infant but she was a trooper. An hour later we were paying the bill and saying our goodbyes. I actually enjoyed myself though technically I was not with a large crowd but rather just 2 other guys.
I will leave you with one more photo. The oldest child of the dad of the infant had these really cute shoes on for her Christmas pictures.
Jon
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