So we took the boys out to eat for Jojo’s birthday today.
That in itself ought to be celebrated. Just “dining out” has never been easy.
There was a time not too long ago that simply “going out to eat,” was one of the most stress-inducing exercises in behavioral challenges and social anxiety.
The problem wasn’t with the actual activity of “eating in a new place.”
The problem was with getting Jonah to follow all the rules and expectations of being out in a public sit-down restaurant without having a colossal meltdown.
Rules like “no running” in the restaurant. No standing on the chairs. No yelling or screaming, or throwing food. The expectation to wait for the food while sitting in a chair or at a booth. Keeping one’s hands to one’s self.
Keeping one’s self entertained until the food arrived AND while eating.
We had to pack so many things for Jojo to make the experience as SHORT as possible.
The quicker we could leave, the less chance of a meltdown we would have.
And in the end, even with a successful outing, we would end up having to consume our food in record time, not even being able to enjoy it…eating our food like a fast food drive-thru, but still having to pay the “sit down” price for it.
The “pros” rarely outweighed the possible “cons.”
So we just didn’t take the kids out to eat.
🫤
And look at us now…
Look at these boys…
Today, we ate at a sit-down restaurant… and we were able to take our time.
We didn’t need to bring anything for entertainment inside. Jonny graciously shared his phone with Jojo to play Minecraft.
We patiently waited for our table, ordered our food, waited for it to arrive, stayed in our seats, ate (some of) our food at a leisurely-ish pace.
Took the rest of the food home in a box.
No messes were made. No food was thrown. No meltdowns ensued.
Food was eaten.
Fun was had.
Memories were made.
Victories were celebrated.
#ausome #smALLVICTORIES