The "Monthly Treat" Story

It was an ordinary day. Friday! Just got home from work and the kids are all excited. We are going out to eat. Derek, our oldest is 7, Brynn, our daughter is 4 and Tad, the baby, is 2 years old. Carol is a stay-at-home mom and has been since Derek was born. We made a decision that she would stay home and raise the children rather than work a full time job. Hey, raising three children is a full time job, right. Only one is in school at present. Derek is in 2nd grade at Schaeffer Elementary School which is right around the corner on Pleasure Road in Manheim Township. I have been teaching high school for 11 years in Manheim Township School District since 1967, when we moved to the district, right up the street from my parents. We try to go out to eat once a month, usually on a Friday. Times are hard with only one working parent and three children, so we usually just make it out to eat one time a month. Then it is only at McDonald's or Burger King. Some times we will go to the Akron Restaurant near Ephrata with my mom and dad, since they usually pick up the tab. Since the kids are so young it sometimes gets challenging keeping them quiet when we go out to eat, so the fast food places work best and are the least expensive. Oh, the good old times. Now, I'm typing this in the past tense for good reason. Today, Carol and I visited the Chesapeake Inn in Chesapeake City for lunch. The table next to us had a family of six seated at it. Mom and dad as well as four young boys. FOUR! All looked to be no older than 7, 8 tops. Youngest was in an infant's seat. Boy did that bring back memories. We thought 3 was tough. Can't imagine how hard it would be with 4, and all boys. And in a sit-down restaurant where the food isn't delivered instantly to your table. True, back in the 70s there weren't iPods, iPads and the other electronic games like there are today for kids to entertain themselves with while they wait on their food. But these boys didn't have any thing like that either today. Army men, plastic animals and a few matchbox cars lined the table and windowsill next to them. Real boys playing with make believe toys, and I must admit they were really well-behaved. Hopefully our kids were as well behaved at these four were. As they were leaving, the mom went around the table and windowsill and floor gathering all the toys that remained. She looked our way and we smiled sympathetically at her. Good job, mom. We know what you are going through. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.