Collectors Item

It was the perfect ending to a really great day together as a family of three.  Mike decided at the last minute to forgo his football ticket to spend the day together.  We had been busy all day with a birthday party for one of Marshall's little buddies (which was a "feed the ducks" party...genius!), football watching, and Suwanee Day festival-going.  The last thing we wanted to do was go home and figure out what to make for dinner out of our empty fridge so we decided to do it....go out to eat.  We had not eaten out together as a family for more than four months.  Why you ask?  Because M was no longer entertained with forks, spoons, sugar packets and the like.  We couldn't depend on special tag-along toys or books to keep him content while we indulged in chips and salsa anymore.  He had stuff to figure out and places he needed to explore (like the back kitchen or the lady's purse next to us).  What used to be a relaxing treat had turned into a relay race to order, eat and run.  Not my idea of money well spent. 

Anyway, we decided to go to our favorite little kid-friendly spot.  It is ironically named after what used to be our favorite watering hole in Athens.  The owner bought the rights to the name along with the "theme " (if-you-will) of Steverino's and opened a great location in downtown Duluth.  They've got the same menu with the same fries.  To our amazement and delight, M sat contently in his booster seat, and chowed down on his chicken fingers and fries.  Then he ran around the video games and the outdoor patio while we talked about our collection of 12 year old Steverino's mugs. Back in the day, they would refilled the 48 oz'ers for less than $2 or something like that...Mike and I laughed about the reaction we might get if we brought ours with us next time.  We told the owner about them just to see what he would say.  And he said something that made us feel old...really old.  "Oh!  I've heard about those but I've never actually seen one."   

So with a bit of sadness we laughed...maybe this Steverino's isn't as authentic as we wanted to think.  Perhaps we should donate our mugs to the new guy...just for keeping the spirit alive...and giving us a place to eat out as a family again.