I took the kids to Chick-Fil-A yesterday. Some of the reason we went there was because my nephew kept asking to go there, but most of it is because the closest Chick-Fil-A is 25 minutes away and I figured it would be a good way to spend a big chunk of the day.
I had been in the parking lot for less than 10 seconds when I realized I had made a very wise choice. I think there must be some sort of magic bubble that surrounds a Chick-Fil-A, in one way acting like a bio-dome, fostering happiness and goodwill on the inside, but also standing as a force-field, keeping the overall negativity and angst of life from entering the premises.
As I was working to get the littlest one into his stroller, a kind lady, who had pulled in just after us, backed her car half way out of her spot next to me and waited until I was finished before she pulled back in. The car approaching the drive through window stopped so we could safely cross and the driver waved to all the kids. The two entry doors were held by two different men, who at any other restaurant would have seen the size of my approaching herd and run to be sure they were in line before we could get the stroller over the curb.
Once inside we were waited on promptly and the cashier politely told me to go ahead and take a seat, letting me know she would bring our food right to our table. When she found us in the back corner, she asked what condiments we would need and promptly brought back everything on our list. After that, a sweet old lady, I'll call her Grandma Fil-A, came over to help stick the little sticky place mats to the table, to open all the condiment packages her fellow employee had just dropped off, and to put straws in all of our drinks. She kept coming back to check on us and when she saw my nephew had decided he liked my lemonade better than his sippy cup of milk, quickly brought me a fresh, cold cup.
The kids ate all of the heavenly food, and before I knew it, Grandma Fil-A was back helping to clean up our table and throw away all of our trash. Table cleared, we wheeled into the play land where the kids enjoyed themselves for a good long time. A little girl, came up to me and introduced herself. She said, "I'm Savannah Grace. I like your bracelet." She then stood there looking at the beads on my bracelet for the next five minutes while she told me all about her life. I now know Grandpa Bob's birthday is on Wednesday and that is very far away. Then she smiled and skipped away when her mom called her to go home.
Time was flying and I realized we needed to start thinking about leaving to take full advantage of approaching nap time. So, I went into the bathroom to change the littlest one's diaper before the ride home, and ran into Grandma Fil-A again. She let me know in her very sweet Grandma voice that it would be a while until the stall with the changing table would be available. She said (again in cute Grandma talk) that a wee little one had made quite a big mess in his diaper and that she was heading in to help the poor, unprepared mom. So, in went Grandma Fil-A, into the stall to help the mom and her (by my imaginings) poop covered baby. We waited a little bit, but then I realized by what Grandma Fil-A was saying that I didn't really have any desire to go into that stall when they were finished. So we left the bathroom and I collected the other kids. But we quickly had to head back into the bathroom because Little One needed to go. As we went in, I heard Grandma Fil-A saying something to the effect of "Don't worry, sweetheart. Things like this have happened to all of us. Sometimes we just aren't ready for surprises like this. But you did great and he's all clean now. So smile and enjoy the rest of your day." I think I walked in on the end of a counseling session in the stall.
We weren't in there long enough to see the mom come out (I think she may have been hiding, waiting until the bathroom was empty to make her exit), but I did see Grandma Fil-A. She came out with a big bag of trash and a sweet smile on her face. As I drove out of the parking lot with a car full of happy kids, I too was full and smiling. Chick-Fil-A had served us well once again. I witnessed more kindness in the short span of time we were dwelling in the bubble than I have seen in the long hours spent outside. I started to wonder if we ordered food to go if the effects of the bubble would follow us home. I am going to try it out next time. It will give me a really good excuse to try that Banana Pudding Milkshake.
I had been in the parking lot for less than 10 seconds when I realized I had made a very wise choice. I think there must be some sort of magic bubble that surrounds a Chick-Fil-A, in one way acting like a bio-dome, fostering happiness and goodwill on the inside, but also standing as a force-field, keeping the overall negativity and angst of life from entering the premises.
As I was working to get the littlest one into his stroller, a kind lady, who had pulled in just after us, backed her car half way out of her spot next to me and waited until I was finished before she pulled back in. The car approaching the drive through window stopped so we could safely cross and the driver waved to all the kids. The two entry doors were held by two different men, who at any other restaurant would have seen the size of my approaching herd and run to be sure they were in line before we could get the stroller over the curb.
Once inside we were waited on promptly and the cashier politely told me to go ahead and take a seat, letting me know she would bring our food right to our table. When she found us in the back corner, she asked what condiments we would need and promptly brought back everything on our list. After that, a sweet old lady, I'll call her Grandma Fil-A, came over to help stick the little sticky place mats to the table, to open all the condiment packages her fellow employee had just dropped off, and to put straws in all of our drinks. She kept coming back to check on us and when she saw my nephew had decided he liked my lemonade better than his sippy cup of milk, quickly brought me a fresh, cold cup.
The kids ate all of the heavenly food, and before I knew it, Grandma Fil-A was back helping to clean up our table and throw away all of our trash. Table cleared, we wheeled into the play land where the kids enjoyed themselves for a good long time. A little girl, came up to me and introduced herself. She said, "I'm Savannah Grace. I like your bracelet." She then stood there looking at the beads on my bracelet for the next five minutes while she told me all about her life. I now know Grandpa Bob's birthday is on Wednesday and that is very far away. Then she smiled and skipped away when her mom called her to go home.
Time was flying and I realized we needed to start thinking about leaving to take full advantage of approaching nap time. So, I went into the bathroom to change the littlest one's diaper before the ride home, and ran into Grandma Fil-A again. She let me know in her very sweet Grandma voice that it would be a while until the stall with the changing table would be available. She said (again in cute Grandma talk) that a wee little one had made quite a big mess in his diaper and that she was heading in to help the poor, unprepared mom. So, in went Grandma Fil-A, into the stall to help the mom and her (by my imaginings) poop covered baby. We waited a little bit, but then I realized by what Grandma Fil-A was saying that I didn't really have any desire to go into that stall when they were finished. So we left the bathroom and I collected the other kids. But we quickly had to head back into the bathroom because Little One needed to go. As we went in, I heard Grandma Fil-A saying something to the effect of "Don't worry, sweetheart. Things like this have happened to all of us. Sometimes we just aren't ready for surprises like this. But you did great and he's all clean now. So smile and enjoy the rest of your day." I think I walked in on the end of a counseling session in the stall.
We weren't in there long enough to see the mom come out (I think she may have been hiding, waiting until the bathroom was empty to make her exit), but I did see Grandma Fil-A. She came out with a big bag of trash and a sweet smile on her face. As I drove out of the parking lot with a car full of happy kids, I too was full and smiling. Chick-Fil-A had served us well once again. I witnessed more kindness in the short span of time we were dwelling in the bubble than I have seen in the long hours spent outside. I started to wonder if we ordered food to go if the effects of the bubble would follow us home. I am going to try it out next time. It will give me a really good excuse to try that Banana Pudding Milkshake.
Happy kids- Tuesday, May 1.
I wish I would have thought to take a picture of Grandma Fil-A. I think a return trip is in order. Anybody want to go to Chick-Fil-A?
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