Friday, February 8, 2013

Tea, cookie, memory

Last night, we went to dinner with my in-laws.  Since this was a new restaurant with mostly untried foods for Em and Ro, we deemed it an adventure night where everyone tries one bite of everything before determining if they don't like it.  My boys can be picky or adventurous depending on their moods, so I wanted to set the right tone from the start and they were game.

The restaurant was quiet as we chose to eat early, so the boys enjoyed relaxing and looking around at the decorations and giant fish tank while the adults got to sit and visit.  As each course arrived, we talked about what this and that were and tried to compare it to something else Em and Ro have already enjoyed.  Chicken and steak on skewers with peanut sauce and sliced cucumbers, glass noodles rolled up into "mini burritos" that you can dip in sweet oil, soup like mommy's kinda sorta with baby bok choi.  It was great fun watching them try things and critique and ask for seconds on some things, passing on others.  They shared their own dishes with each other and declared "we have to come back here again" to my delight.


When our waitress brought out cookies, I was surprised to see them and immediately overcome with a memory of my great grandmother.  I remember being about 8 or so, sitting in a new restaurant and watching Gramma dunk her cookie into her oolong tea-- dunking it within seconds of it falling apart in the tiny tea cup.  I think she had wanted the cookie to soak up as much tea as possible before popping it in her mouth.  I showed Ro the same move with my own tea and I couldn't stop smiling thinking about my Gramma Birdie.  It's funny how those tiny memories can bubble to the surface and are now melded into a new memory of my great grandma and the great great grandchild she's never met.