Our family recently dined at the brand new Golden Corral in our area. Now, it is important to understand what type of eatery the Golden Corral is before moving forward with this story. The Golden Corral is wall to wall food with every imaginable type of cuisine. Actually, it looks like one trough after another for as far as the eye can see. Where else could you have Chinese, Mexican, seafood, salad, and down home Southern cooking in one place? Did I mention there is a chocolate fountain? Oh yes, it is quite a sight to behold.
Between the troughs of food are MILLIONS of people. I mean it is like Golden Corral is handing out cash money! There are people everywhere and each one of them has at least 4 kids with them. I was on sensory overload from minute one of walking in the door. To calm myself a bit, I sat with Morgan at the table while Kim and good friend, Misty, helped Madison and McKenzie fix their plates. It is important to point out the picky eaters in our family left the building with enormous bellies and huge smiles. I sat at the table with Morgan, focused only on her face, and tried to entertain a hungry 2 year old.
Amidst the noise of clinking forks and knives, Madison announces she has to go to the restroom. Since I was actively chewing and Kim was not, Kim drew the short straw for bathroom visit #1. Have you ever gone to the bathroom in an all you can eat kind of place? It isn't always pretty. Neither one of us wanted to make this trip but children in our family do not go to the restroom alone in public places. So off they go. Honestly, I breathed a sigh of relief that I am off the hook for the bathroom break.
Any mother reading this post knows how wrong I was for assuming I had escaped the dreaded bathroom break in the all you can eat Golden Corral. Shortly after Kim returns with Madison, McKenzie has to go to the restroom. Yep, my number was up. So off we go to what was not a half bad public restroom. I was pleasantly surprised, but in awe of the sheer number of people also using the restroom. We weren't in there 2 seconds when I hear, "Is she your daughter?" I turn around to see several little African American girls drying their hands at the sink in complete fascination of our mother daughter relationship.
"Yes, I am her mom. And she is my daughter," I answer.
"How is that?" they ask.
"Well, she is adopted," I explain.
"What does that mean?" they ask.
"It means she grew in another lady's tummy and became part of our family after she was born."
"Cool."
I return to the table to finish my meal and watch the group of little girls from the restroom pass by as if seeing a display at the zoo. All wide eyed and curious, they slowly walk past our table and I share the adoption conversation with Kim. Ah, that makes sense.
Morgan, who has not embraced potty training until this moment, decides she needs to pee pee. On the potty. Now. And she didn't lean over to discreetly whisper this need to me, but instead launches into a screaming fit that went something like this:
"POTTY NOW MOMMY! POTTY NOW! NOW NOW NOW!"
Trying to maintain some sense of dignity, I grab Morgan and the diaper bag and head back to the restroom. The same scene appeared on the other side of the door - not half bad restroom, a ton of people, and a gaggle of curious little girls. I put Morgan on the potty, but she doesn't like the seat. It's too big. I hold her over the seat. It doesn't feel right. I check her Pull Up to feel not a drop of liquid. We leave the stall to assume the position on the changing table. Guess what happens next?
"Are you her mama?"
"Why, yes, I am."
"You can't be her mama. She's black."
"Yes, I know."
"And you're not."
"Yes, I know."
"So how are you her mama?"
"Well she was born from another lady's tummy and became part of our family after she was born. Even though we don't look alike, we are still a family."
Six little eyes are boring holes in my head. I am certain I am being interrogated. Two of the three girls continue to stare me down as their friend, or possibly sister, pulls open the restroom door to yell, "Hey Keisha! Come here." Great.
Keisha takes mere moments to appear and is slightly older than the other 3 girls. I am just finishing the ritual on the changing table with Morgan.
"Keisha, that's her mama," she says as she points to Morgan.
"No way." Keisha says.
"Yep, they don't look alike but they are still a family. That baby was adopted."
"Cool."
And with that, the interrogation ends. Now everyone wants to know Morgan's name and how old she is and confirm how pretty she is. The usual. I, on the other hand, wanted to finish my meal which was surely ice cold by now. I left the restroom with the Potty Princess and informed Misty and Kim the restaurant was now enlightened. (Picture the old lady at the end of Poltergeist) Kim looked around and assured me there was very little evidence of enlightenment in the Golden Corral.
Of course, you can't always see enlightenment from the outside. Right?
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Sunday, September 05, 2010
A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Zoo
It was the Saturday morning of Labor Day weekend and not a single plan had been made to fill the next 3 days for 3 little girls. While still laying in the bed, listening to the girls slowly wake up, Kim says to me, "Let's go to the zoo."
"When?" I ask.
"Right now," she says.
So we hop out of the bed and start the preparations for a last minute trip to Waco, where we are told a fabulous zoo exists. The girls were thrilled and worked with us, instead of against us as usual, to complete the road trip preparations. Kim packed snacks and drinks enough to stay away for a week. Children were dressed, teeth were brushed, and the van loaded with every possible necessity. Just shortly before 9 Am, we were headed for I-35 North to visit Waco, TX home of Dr. Pepper, Baylor University, and a zoo.
The 1 hour drive went pretty well, which is amazing since Morgan, age 2, HATES to be in the car. I have never known a child to dislike the car the way Morgan does. Driving home from pre-school is often a challenge! All in all, Morgan did really well. We arrived at the zoo about 10 Am and easily found a parking place. This was a good sign. Kim and I marveled at how comfortable the weather was. I think it was about the most perfect day ever to visit the zoo! We didn't even have to stand in line to buy our tickets. I looked over the children at Kim and said, "I am digging Waco!"
We walk into the zoo, having just purchased our tickets, and took a potty poll - who has to go and who thinks they don't have to go but they are going to have to go anyway? I take Madison and McKenzie to the restroom just inside the main entrance. Kim and Morgan were waiting outside for us. Now that our bladders were relieved and the map was in hand, it was time to have a quick huddle about staying together, not leaving the zoo with anyone but us, and a review of our names besides Momma and Mommy.
It is during the huddle that I notice the stare. Our family gets them all the time and I am totally used to it. However, this stare went on too long and it was ticking me off. A woman standing a few feet away from our huddle is boldly looking in our direction with such a puzzled look on her face. I want to scream, "Yes, we are 2 white women with 3 black kids! We are far less interesting than you might think. Now stop looking at us like we are freaks!"
Of course, she can't hear the conversation in my head. Actually, very few people other than Kim ever can hear the running dialogue in my brain. So what is a mom to do? And not just any mom, but a mother bear/politically correct/Christian/my-kids-are-watching me mother? Well let me just tell you.'
I stand up straight, turn my entire body away from my family and towards my audience of one, and say with all the Southern charm I can muster, "GOOD MORNING!" Yeah, that ought to show her! I know, it was lame. Please remember there is no script writer for my life standing in the background somewhere. My point was to make her aware of the fact that she was staring at my family. Thinking she would immediately look away after her rudeness was passively agressively pointed out in public, I turned my attention and my body back to the girls.
And that's when I heard it. Oh yeah. Here it comes.
"Amy, is that you?"
I turn around to see my audience of one moving closer to me with arms outstretched. Oh great. I have NO idea who this is, but clearly she knows my name. And possibly, just possibly, she wasn't staring at my family to be rude or inquisitive but to determine if it was really me.
"Yes, and you are....?" I fumble for words in that akward moment when you get caught with your pants down, not having a clue who this person is.
"I am sure you don't remember me, but we were in a training together several years ago. It is so good to see you!"
Oh crap. I definitely don't remember the training or the woman. We exchange pleasantries, confirm that it is in fact the perfect day to visit the zoo, and go our separate ways. Of course, Kim is about to burst with laughter since my in-your-face GOOD MORNING was clearly directed at a stranger and this woman was not. Of course, I still don't remember her name and vaguely remember the training. I clearly made an impression on her and am only slightly concerned as to what exactly I did or said to make such a lasting impression. Oh well, no harm no foul.
I am predicting "GOOD MORNING!!" to become a buzz word in my family as Kim continues to chuckle about the Debutante who was prepared to get all up in a lady's face at the zoo for staring at our family. Of course, I can't help it that my children are so beautiful as to cause a commotion in front of the restrooms at the Waco zoo. Apparently, this is just a burden I will have to carry.
All kidding aside, we had a wonderful day at the zoo and I am so glad we went. Here are just a few pictures of our time with King Louis, Melman, and Alex the Lion. By the way, the enormous lion stared at Morgan for the longest time. Kim is convinced he thought she was meat since she was wearing a pink shirt.
"When?" I ask.
"Right now," she says.
So we hop out of the bed and start the preparations for a last minute trip to Waco, where we are told a fabulous zoo exists. The girls were thrilled and worked with us, instead of against us as usual, to complete the road trip preparations. Kim packed snacks and drinks enough to stay away for a week. Children were dressed, teeth were brushed, and the van loaded with every possible necessity. Just shortly before 9 Am, we were headed for I-35 North to visit Waco, TX home of Dr. Pepper, Baylor University, and a zoo.
The 1 hour drive went pretty well, which is amazing since Morgan, age 2, HATES to be in the car. I have never known a child to dislike the car the way Morgan does. Driving home from pre-school is often a challenge! All in all, Morgan did really well. We arrived at the zoo about 10 Am and easily found a parking place. This was a good sign. Kim and I marveled at how comfortable the weather was. I think it was about the most perfect day ever to visit the zoo! We didn't even have to stand in line to buy our tickets. I looked over the children at Kim and said, "I am digging Waco!"
We walk into the zoo, having just purchased our tickets, and took a potty poll - who has to go and who thinks they don't have to go but they are going to have to go anyway? I take Madison and McKenzie to the restroom just inside the main entrance. Kim and Morgan were waiting outside for us. Now that our bladders were relieved and the map was in hand, it was time to have a quick huddle about staying together, not leaving the zoo with anyone but us, and a review of our names besides Momma and Mommy.
It is during the huddle that I notice the stare. Our family gets them all the time and I am totally used to it. However, this stare went on too long and it was ticking me off. A woman standing a few feet away from our huddle is boldly looking in our direction with such a puzzled look on her face. I want to scream, "Yes, we are 2 white women with 3 black kids! We are far less interesting than you might think. Now stop looking at us like we are freaks!"
Of course, she can't hear the conversation in my head. Actually, very few people other than Kim ever can hear the running dialogue in my brain. So what is a mom to do? And not just any mom, but a mother bear/politically correct/Christian/my-kids-are-watching me mother? Well let me just tell you.'
I stand up straight, turn my entire body away from my family and towards my audience of one, and say with all the Southern charm I can muster, "GOOD MORNING!" Yeah, that ought to show her! I know, it was lame. Please remember there is no script writer for my life standing in the background somewhere. My point was to make her aware of the fact that she was staring at my family. Thinking she would immediately look away after her rudeness was passively agressively pointed out in public, I turned my attention and my body back to the girls.
And that's when I heard it. Oh yeah. Here it comes.
"Amy, is that you?"
I turn around to see my audience of one moving closer to me with arms outstretched. Oh great. I have NO idea who this is, but clearly she knows my name. And possibly, just possibly, she wasn't staring at my family to be rude or inquisitive but to determine if it was really me.
"Yes, and you are....?" I fumble for words in that akward moment when you get caught with your pants down, not having a clue who this person is.
"I am sure you don't remember me, but we were in a training together several years ago. It is so good to see you!"
Oh crap. I definitely don't remember the training or the woman. We exchange pleasantries, confirm that it is in fact the perfect day to visit the zoo, and go our separate ways. Of course, Kim is about to burst with laughter since my in-your-face GOOD MORNING was clearly directed at a stranger and this woman was not. Of course, I still don't remember her name and vaguely remember the training. I clearly made an impression on her and am only slightly concerned as to what exactly I did or said to make such a lasting impression. Oh well, no harm no foul.
I am predicting "GOOD MORNING!!" to become a buzz word in my family as Kim continues to chuckle about the Debutante who was prepared to get all up in a lady's face at the zoo for staring at our family. Of course, I can't help it that my children are so beautiful as to cause a commotion in front of the restrooms at the Waco zoo. Apparently, this is just a burden I will have to carry.
All kidding aside, we had a wonderful day at the zoo and I am so glad we went. Here are just a few pictures of our time with King Louis, Melman, and Alex the Lion. By the way, the enormous lion stared at Morgan for the longest time. Kim is convinced he thought she was meat since she was wearing a pink shirt.
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