On Sunday, February 16th my wife and I went to an incredible restaurant.  It was opening night for the restaurant, The Art Studio Café.  I tried to use yelp to see if the chef had worked anywhere previously.  I did not have any luck.   We were greeted by a lovely waitress who presented us with beautifully designed menu’s.  My wife and I toasted to each other, sipped our wine and ordered our dinner.

We were served eggs, bacon, bagels, waffles, fruit, and for dessert we each got coffee ice cream.  For drinks we each had a glass of water and a glass of wine.  I’ve never had wine with breakfast foods, but I learned that red wine really goes with almost anything.

There was relaxing music playing in the background.  I had on a pair of shorts and my favorite sweatshirt and my wife wore her most comfortable sweatpants and shirt.  The candles on the table were almost lit until I told the waitress and cook that I would advise against that as my date had bought those candles as a centerpiece to the table and not to actually light and use.

Everything was cooked perfectly.  We had a few laughs, even got to hang out with the restaurant dog, Max.  He was very well behaved and was rewarded when we snuck him a few pieces of bacon.  We were given our bill and we were shocked to find out that they were only charging us hugs, fist bumps, high fives and air high fives.  My wife wasn’t even sure what an air high five was so she had to ask the staff.  We paid what we owed and were on our way.  I have no idea how they will stay in business if they are not charging money but I was not going to complain.

It was a perfect meal.  Until I glanced at the kitchen on my way to the living room and the movie we were going to watch.  The waitress and chef had used every utensil, pot and pan, napkin, and glass in the kitchen on just these two meals.  Again, I have no idea how they would be able to stay in business if they used all of that on just their first two customers, but I was not going to complain.

Everything about the meal meant something to me.  The name of the restaurant was a take from our Art Studio that we used to have together.  It was the first blog I ever wrote about, so you know it means something to me and my tribe.

https://weirdbeardblog.com/2018/03/21/the-art-studio/

The kids didn’t do this big grand gesture.  They didn’t ask us to get all dressed up and take us to an expensive restaurant (my wallet thanks them!).  They just cooked their Mom and Dad a meal.  They took care of us, even if it was just for a couple hours at a pretend restaurant.  Nothing big happened, we ate, smiled and laughed.  They put a smile on their Mom and Dad’s faces.  I love seeing my wife smiling so it was a great gift to me. My life, our lives, are so much better when my wife is smiling. It’s a meal I will remember forever. A perfect night if you ask me.

There’s no lesson I learned from this meal.  There was no big moment that happened from it.  It was just another great small little memory I get to put away for later if I ever need a smile.  It was the kids putting a few pennies in our tribe’s piggy bank.  All those pennies that we have together really is what makes us rich.  Sure, sometimes we get to put a few dollars in there, but it’s the pennies that make us who we are.

Lucky doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel about my tribe.