A night out on the town is likely to include children, and that's a good thing.
I was out of town with my family this past week and we ate almost every meal in restaurants. Normally, we don't eat out a lot. I prefer home cooking, even if I have to cook it myself, and my husband and kids have gotten used to the way I make things. No one complains if we go weeks without fast food or restaurant fare.
So going to restaurant after restaurant was kind of a kick for me. I started to notice the babies and toddlers, the high chairs, booster seats, snap-on chairs and babes in arms. Things sure have changed since our first baby was born. I felt so self-conscious laying out all the equipment and acoutrements, digging out the bib, baby food, bottles . . . By the third child I was an expert, but the early days were tough.
In our last night away, my daughter and I purposefully sat down in the restaurant where we could get full view of the most adorable little girl. She spent an hour throwing down whatever was put in front of her, so her big brother would fetch it. It reminded me of my son, at about a year old, running his Matchbox car through his applesauce and then giving it the old heave-ho, right into the next booth, where a young couple was obviously on a date. Splat. (I think we may have prevented an early marriage or teen pregnancy that night.)
We all know that life doesn't stop when you have kids, so taking your children to restaurants is par for the course. If you don't have kids, get used to seeing them. They're everywhere. And if you have kids, by all means, take them with you to the restaurant. We'll be on the look-out for your cute babies!
