A Year Without a Santa Claus...

I was up at the crack of dawn this morning to get ready for a big curriculum sale slash flea market that our homeschool group was participating in. I shared a spot with my friend Cathleen and we were there and set up by 7:30. It was already like eighty degrees out.

SO NOT FUN!

The sale was okay, I made some money but I came home totally drained. The only thing getting me through was a much needed nap and the promise that Frank was taking me out to dinner tonight. We are simple people, we know what we like and never tire of going to the same place for dinner - The Outback. I could eat there every week and never get tired of it.

So we go, with Michael (Nick was at work), we get seated right away and all was well. Michael is going through the kids menu, playing some of the games when suddenly he closes the menu and very solemnly says "That's it, I am never using this thing again".

???

What? Was the maze not good enough? Was the word search not challenging? No, the problem was that someone - in beautiful adult handwriting - had written in the middle of the book "Your parents are Santa Claus. Tell them to stop lying to you."

Are you freakin' kidding me??

So Frank grabs the menu and jumps up from the table and I have to admit, I was little bit scared. Frank is not a big man but he most certainly is intimidating when something pisses him off.

This pissed him off.

He goes to the manager and tells him (and I'll word this nicer than he did!) that someone on his staff is a complete ________. And then proceeded to show him what was in the book. The manager was truly mortified and apologized profusely. Five minutes later Frank returned to the table and he was still simmering a bit. Then our Bloomin Onion was delayed. The poor manager had to deliver it to us and apologize again. After that we might as well have offered him a seat with us because he pretty much hovered for the remainder of the meal and THEN covered the whole thing for us.

Sure, the one night we were conservative!

So, all in all we were satisfied with the way that he handled it. We know it wasn't his fault but maybe someone should check these things before handing them to the kids! I had a yummy dinner, though. Mmmm...steak....

As for Michael, he bounced back. He is easily distracted. He'll definitely remember this but he is nine and maybe the whole Santa thing isn't a big deal. We never made a big deal about it. He only sat on Santa's lap once in the last nine years and that was Christmas of 2007! The thing is, if anyone were going to break that news to him, I would have preferred to have it done by either myself or Frank.

Warning to all parents, look through your children's menus before handing them over to them. You never know what you'll find inside!