Surprise for Dessert

My husband and I had an excellent dinner this weekend at Aqua Terra. We love Aqua Terra, had our rehearsal dinner there, and go for special occasions. This weekend was as wonderful as ever.

The couple next to us were having a great dinner, and it was their first time there. They were very upbeat. We smiled and exchanged a few words, but didn’t have a big interaction with them.

When it came time for dessert, we didn’t see chocolate on the dessert menu, so we didn’t order anything. The couple next to us had tempura bananas.

After they had left, while we were lingering in our window seat watching the passers-by, the waiter brought us dessert! The couple had loved their tempura bananas  so much, they sent us one, as well as the creme brulee they must have heard my husband talk about.

It was a wonderful feeling–as nice as the days before EZ Pass when someone in front of you pays your toll. We decided the only way to thank them was to copy them. So, we sent desserts to another table! I wonder how many times that happened that night?

I learned two things from this. The first is that Aqua Terra must be doing a lot of things right, if that couple was so pleased with their experience that they gave us dessert in such a fun way. The second is that it feels really good to be on the giving and the receiving end of anonymous giving.

So, I need to do it more!

Living on the Edge

A while ago, I wrote in one of my newsletters about the growth edge–being on the edge intellectually, spiritually, emotionally, and physically. I’m on an edge right now, and it’s so cool!

I must confess that I’ve never written about a car before. But, I now have a car worth writing about! My car, the typical “mommy” car, a Volvo wagon, was totalled recently (everyone was fine). I really liked that car, and I was very disappointed when it was gone.

But, we already have another Volvo wagon that the au pair drives, so I figured we should take this downer of losing our car and turn it around. Why not get something completely different? My husband and I had been talking about size and gas mileage, so he didn’t balk when I suggested we look at Mini Coopers! I was elated.

So, we researched and he found out that the automatic Minis weren’t very good. This was a bit of a thing–I’ve never had a stick shift car before. I can drive them, I just haven’t driven them a lot. My experience was limited to driving friends home in their cars who had a little too much, car rentals in Europe, and my husband’s convertible every now and then. 

So, not only was I going to jump from a large Volvo wagon into a little Mini, I was going to jump into driving a stick shift on a daily basis.

I made the leap, and I love it! I get better at the stick shift every day. The size of a car feels like a jewel. Both boys can climb into their car seats. And I enjoy doing errands–I love zipping around town. I still get a little nervous when I come to a stoplight on a hill, or need to parallel park on a hill, but I am having so much fun.

I now know why people say driving is a sport! This little car is so much fun to drive. (And I didn’t even get the “S”!)

Our au pair asked if I was going to name the car. I’ve never named a car before, but I can see that I might want to! But “Mini” is such a good name already.

And it didn’t come with a roof decal. That could happen ….

I didn’t take this picture–I have gotten that cuckoo yet–but this is what my car looks like. Now, where am I going to go today?