TMI at IHOP
My 9 year old daughter and I had the chance to have a Mommy & Me dinner out last week. I let her pick the venue and since breakfast is her favorite meal of the day, she chose IHOP. As much as that would be one of the last places I would choose, away we went.
We were seated in a cozy little booth and had just placed our order when another couple was seated across from us. The man was about my age and his daughter looked to be a year older than my daughter. No sooner than they closed their menus, the father started in on his speech. At first, I tried not to pay attention. I mean, I was there to have some special time with my daughter, not listen in on another parent having time with theirs. Two rounds of tic-tac-toe on the place mat later and we were both all ears. It was impossible not to be.
First, though, they placed their order. The father had a fat stack of pancakes while the meek 10 year old dressed in a Pollyanna skirt and zip sweatshirt with braids in her hair ordered the tilapia with a side of broccoli. Odd. Then, his sermon began with the importance of a real friends and quickly moved onto how to deal with bullies.
Everything the man said was rational. If I had been reading what he was telling his daughter out of a Parenting Tips book, I wouldn't have batted an eyelash. However, this man was unmistakably on a mission and more than that, he was like a dog with a bone. As a bystander, I found it very hard not to be drawn in.
On he went from putting your nose in a book when there's trouble on the school bus (he mentioned that he didn't approve of ipods) to the importance of good grades. (Absolutely no C's) I almost choked on my Parmesan Chicken Sandwich when he switched to what to do when a boy makes unwanted advances - only he didn't phrase it quite like that.
Again, everything that he said made sense but the manor in which he was feeding the information to his daughter caused me to question his motives. Now I know it wasn't my business or place to judge but the guy was talking loud enough to make it a town hall meeting and his innocent looking little girl was taking it all in.
I started to wonder, "Is this the first time he is seeing this child?" or "Is he going off to war soon?" and "Did he just break out of prison and only has this one dinner to teach his daughter all the important life lessons in the whole wide world before the cops circle up outside and drag him back to his cell?"
Because, really, the poor girl's head was about to explode.
As much as I can appreciate a father taking the time to give his daughter guidance, I wasn't too keen on having my daughter and our dinner along for his wild ride. But what could I do? I tried talking over him. I was tempted to ask for our menus back so we could put them up as a protective barrier against his verbiage. In the end, though, we just minded our own business ...or tried.
Maybe that was his only chance to talk to his daughter. Luckily, I have every day to cherish mine. And the whole ride home to do damage control on what my daughter overheard. Ack!
Kimberly Petro writes about life in The Ding Dang Woods on her personal blog, Petroville. Come visit.
An original DC Metro Moms post. / Photo Credit: Flickr
