this is a little story i just wanted to write down so that my daughter can look back on it one day and hear about how she bought us a Valentine's dinner.
we didn't want to mess with trying to find a babysitter on a holiday and all that this year, so we decided to live dangerously and take jia out with us to a japanese hibachi grill!
we figured it would be either a big hit or a big mistake with her. i wasn't sure if all the fire and cooking show would entertain her or terrify her.
our evening started off on a rough foot with jia running around in circles around the house and throwing up all over herself just as we were trying to walk out the door for our night out. i was starting to doubt our decision right then.
after a quick wardrobe change we made it to the restaurant in time for our reservation. as we walked in i saw a few doubtful glances cast our way from couples out for valentine's dates. I was afraid all the romantics out that night would hate us.
jia was a little restless initially at the table, but that's normal for her...she tends to get "hangry". once our soup came out though she was acting more like herself...she thoroughly enjoys the challenge of feeding herself soup with a spoon at this age.
then our chef came out and did his fun cooking act in front of us. thankfully jia was more interested than scared, and our gamble paid off!
as we finished our meal we wondered where our check was since it seemed others around us had already gotten theirs, but didn't think too much of it.
an older couple who had been sitting across from us on the other side of the chef walked by on their way out and said "I hope you aren't offended, but we paid for your meal. We were just so delighted by your daughter. Really it's your daughter that bought your meal. Happy Valentine's day."
totally not what we were expecting! we were totally blown away by this random act of kindness and generosity! This was a nice restaurant and a special treat for us...our bill wasn't cheap...around $60, plus tip!
i have no idea who those strangers were, but they were such a huge blessing and inspiration to us! i just hope to one day pay forward this kindness!
