The Best $35 Investment I Make Each Week
The Best $35 Investment I Make Each Week
Most Saturday mornings so it’s just me and the two girls. And it’s some of the best times we have together all week.
Tuesday through Friday I’m at work for 10+ hours. I get home, and have dinner with the fam, but by that time everyone is winding down and about to go to bed.
But SATURDAY MORNINGS; those belong to just dad and the girls.
My oldest daughter genuinely looks forward to those mornings all week, and for good reason, they’re awesome!
I get up before them and get my workout in so that my full attention is on them when they get up. When they start to stir, I promptly head in and get Wild Thing One and Wild Thing Two dressed and ready. Sometimes we stay in our jammies, but most of the time, we get dressed. Per moms request.
From there it’s restaurant time or as my girls call it “Rester-not”.
We go to the same place every Saturday morning, and it’s always delicious. The key is that we get there before the Saturday morning rush. There’s a window that we have to hit or else it’s WAY too crowded.
It’s to the point now that we walk in and they ask if we want to sit at our usual spot. It’s right by the kitchen so my youngest likes to say “hello, good morning” to EVERYONE that walks by.
The waitress comes and asks us if we want our usuals… we’re THOSE customers now. And yes, we do want our usual. The girls share a kids plate with pancakes, sausage and eggs… except I usually get to eat their eggs.
I’ll get 3 eggs scrambled with sausage, yogurt and sourdough toast with jam. We order a coffee, water and a glass of orange juice which I then divide up between two plastic kids cups.
As we wait for the food, we color! Same kids menu print out each time, but they never seem to get bored of making their master pieces from the red, yellow and blue crayons. Who needs any other colors, really??
The food comes and immediately the request for syrup begins. I’ll divide out their meal and take my eggs “surcharge” happily. Now we feast!
Each of them starts their meal with a different item. My oldest goes for the sausage first and then starts eyeing mine even before she’s touched a pancake. “More sausage please dad”.
My youngest is true to her age and digs into the pancakes without even taking a breath. Mouth full of half chewed buttermilk goodness and syrup as she reaches for her next bite. The joy on her face is unmatched.
Now that the girls are settled, dad gets to eat. I jam my toast, cut my sausage, squeeze some ketchup on my eggs and enjoy the moment. This is about the time that my youngest spots the jam on my toast and reaches for it. Arm out, hand opening and closing motioning for me to “pass the toast”.
It’s at this time that silence spreads across the table as we are in our “breakfast flow”. Munching on the goods and enjoying the simplicity of a quality breakfast.
Music hits the spot with some classic 90s pop and the sun shines in as the restaurant begins to fill up. A refill or two of coffee later, and we’re good to go.
On the drive home, it’s windows down and music blasting, knowing we started our Saturday on the right foot.
This meal at the most is 35 I spend all week. But it’s not about the meal, it’s not about the food or the restaurant or the waitress or being a “regular”. It’s about the TIME I spend with those girls and the consistency of that day that will leave some awesome memories in their heads.
I love being spontaneous and doing random fun things with them, but it’s the routines & “traditions” that we have that will stay with them forever. Some visits to that restaurant are a little messy. There’s some breakdowns, tantrums, spilled drinks and poor attitudes. But that’s life. It’s all part of the fun. They won’t remember those times. But they will remember that every Saturday morning, it was time with dad at the “rester-not”. I’ll pay $35 every Saturday for AS LONG as I possibly can to keep that going. Because it’ll be gone before I know it.