During March, I am participating in the Slice of Life challenge, hosted by twowritingteachers.wordpress.com. Bloggers from around the world are posting daily, committed to the practice of sharing, reflecting, remembering...writing! Feel free to stop by this incredible March happening and check out other posts or even join in--there's no rule that says you have to start on March 1st!
At a conference last week, I had lunch with someone who shared that his aunt always ordered dessert first when she went out to dinner. She didn't like the pressure of saving room. I loved this idea. It reminded me of the days when my daughters were younger and we would occasionally have an upside-down dinner, starting with dessert. I can't believe I forgot about this!
Last night, I took two of my girls out to dinner. My husband had one of them playing in an outdoor soccer game (that's another post since we live in CT and it was less than twenty degrees at gametime...) and our fourth daughter was away for the weekend with a friend. When the girls looked at the menu, they initially struggled. It was a little fancy for them, although their close reading skills eventually revealed the options of burgers and macaroni and cheese. However, you should have seen their faces when I asked for the dessert menu first.
"Why are you asking for that, now?" Clare asked.
"That's smart," Larkin declared. "We can decide what to get for dessert before we decide on dinner."
"Actually, I think that we should get dessert first," I said.
They both started to giggle.
When the waitress came back, she asked us what we'd decided. She was a little surprised when we ordered the apple crumble and the warm chocolate cake, but I think that she assumed that we were just there for dessert.
"Should we order dinner, now, too?" Larkin asked her.
That got her attention. The girls ordered their burger and pasta, and I ordered my salad.
"But, you want the dessert first?" she asked. I didn't blame her for double checking.
We nodded and she laughed with us.
We had a great time on Saturday night--it's fun to switch up family dynamics, but it was also fun to switch up eating routines. I can't wait to surprise my other two daughters with this new tradition! Who knew that I'd learn about a fun switch-up at a Zaner-Bloser presentation?
Cheers,
They will remember that dinner! My Aunt at 90, often eats just dessert for dinner!
ReplyDeleteSomehow Zaner-Bloser and dessert don't compute in my brain. :-) But if I ever get to your neck of the woods, I want to go out to dinner with you. I may have to try this when I go out with the girls sometime. Somehow I don't think I could convince my husband this should be standard operating procedure.
ReplyDeleteBTW, sooo happy Larkin is joining in again this year.
I love the idea of 'upside-down' dinners, Melanie, & would have loved to see the expression on the girls' faces. I'm always wondering if I should, especially in a place known for desserts! Will try it next time I take my granddaughter out to eat!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a cute post. I could picture those yummy desserts going down first, thanks for sharing this idea. PS I'm sending the link to my daughter...she also loves baking and desserts first could be a great tradition to start, every once in awhile. xo
ReplyDeleteLove this, Melanie - you went with a sense of fun, and fun you had. All due to a Zaner Bloser conference - who would have thought?!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun evening, Melanie! I love the idea of dessert first. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteOh, I LOVE this!!!! I'm going to do this soon...very soon!! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteSo fun to read!
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