True Christmas Cheer

Last night I witnessed first-hand true Christmas spirit….true Christ-like giving.

Melvin and I took the kids to Red Lobster. I don’t know why. There’s something about that place (ever since we first went there when Cameron was only 5 days old), that brings out the worst in the kids’ behavior. This time was not much different.

Cameron, actually, was really good. Until his food came, he ignored everyone so that he could read his new Junie B. book. (I had a heavenly vision of someday sitting at the restaurant with all 3 of my kids quietly reading!)

Max kept busy with his new dragon fuzzy coloring book that Santa gave him the night before. But the boy likes to talk. And he doesn’t seem to have any awareness of voice volume. He yells most of what he says, which is a lot, and we’re shhhhhing him all through dinner, encouraging him to do less talking and more eating.

Ella was our monster this night. She wouldn’t color, she wouldn’t eat, she played musical laps and chairs. She had her hands in everyone’s food and she wanted to keep getting up to see the lobsters in the tank. It’s hard to eat crab legs while attending to all her ridiculous needs. Thankfully Melvin dealt with most of her issues for me, which was so nice of him.

There was a couple sitting right next to us. Melvin actually remarked to me that they were probably out for a nice, quiet dinner, and yet they get stuck by us. They looked quite young and I thought to myself that our table actually created instant birth-control for them. When they left Melvin even apologized for all the commotion caused by our kids. They brushed it off, said they have 3 kids of their own, and that our family was beautiful.

Seconds after they left, our waitress came over and informed us that the couple that just left paid for our kids’ meals! We were so pleasantly shocked. The waitress then informed us that the man said years ago when his kids were little (they’re now teenagers), he took his family out to Applebees and someone anonymously paid for their dinner. So around the holidays every year he’ll do the same thing for other families.

How humbled Melvin and I felt. We were so moved, we plan to do the same when we go out to eat.

Merry Christmas to all of you who go out of your way to volunteer and give of yourselves during this season and throughout the year.