The Story Behind the Scar

My dad's cousin Betsy and her son Thomas were driving through town so we arranged a family brunch at a local restaurant. My parents (Mom-Mom and Gad to the twins), Uncle Brian, Aunt Kathleen, and my cousin Allison were all there. Jason couldn't make it since he had to teach that afternoon.

All was well until the food arrived. In their infinite wisdom, the cook or the waitress (I don't know which) put a piping hot pitcher of syrup on Allison's plate of french toast. (Note that this was a KIDS MEAL that I had ordered, not an adult plate of french toast.) Being the typical two-year-old, she immediately grabbed it and tried to drink it. As she tilted it back in preparation for a nice long sip, the syrup spilled down her arm and the screaming ensued.

I went into zen mode. Knowing that Allison would never calm down if I started screaming at the waitstaff and manager, I instantly forgave them all. My family was baffled but followed my lead. Allison was calmly eating french toast and fruit within five minutes.

I'm still not mad, even a month after I write this. (This all happened on July 12 but I'm writing on August 11.) I know it was a mistake. The waitress was just a high school kid. It was Saturday brunch in a diner, and the place was hopping. As a former waitress myself, I know just how crazy it can get. She was trying to distribute huge amounts of food (3 waitresses helped her carry it all out; I have no idea which one put the plate in front of Allison) to this rowdy group of 10 as quickly as possible so she could get to the next task. She was probably thinking three steps ahead just like I used to. Grab the plates and go, go, go.

I did pull the waitress aside near the end of the meal and told her that I wasn't mad, that Allison would be fine, but that she should never, ever, EVER do that again. She assured me that she had learned her lesson and I believe that she did. That's all I need.

Yes, it was negligence. But would it have helped to make a scene? To scream at the manager and possibly get this girl fired? Allison would still be burned and my heart would be full of anger. I chose peace instead. Allison's burn was very red and developed a couple small blisters. Possibly she will have a scar forever but it's already fading fast. At the very least, we now have a surefire way to tell these twins apart!!

Which reminds me of a funny moment during brunch. My cousin Allison arrived late and sat down at the end of the table. Uncle Brian challenged her to guess which twin was which. After only a moment's hesitation, she called down the table, "Mika!" and waited to see which girl responded. A simple solution, but no one had tried it yet on the girls. Most people just make a random guess, figuring they have a 50:50 chance of being right. Allison, as usual, just went straight for Occum's Razor. She's so clever.

After all the excitement, it was no surprise when the girls fell asleep on the way home. Which of course meant no nap that afternoon. Which was really a bummer because we had a late night planned. It was Jocelyn's surprise birthday dinner, about an hour south of us. The dinner was at six, meaning we didn't get home until around 10:00 that night. That's by far the latest that the girls have ever been up, let alone without a nap.

But they're extroverts and draw their energy from crowds. The twins had a blast and were their usual social selves. We managed to get out of there before the birthday cake was cut so that a sugar high didn't keep them up until midnight. They slept until 8:30 am the next morning, which was soooo nice for Jason and I. It's so sad that 8:30 (heck, 7:30) feels like sleeping in now.