I was just remembering one New Years Eve's we had as a family. Our girls were about the ages of five and eight. We were sitting at home that evening, with no plans. We had already changed into our sweats and pajamas for the night. Just waiting to watch the giant ball of light descend in NYC.
Then, my husband had a great idea - lets take the girls out to a late dinner then we can come home and watch the ball drop before heading to bed. We decided we would just head out in our sweatshirts to find a place to eat. Looking for a new place we had never tried, we spotted an Italian restaurant. Why not try that for our special late night dinner in our unkept hair and sweats? We didn't really think much about our appearance, since - it WAS New Year's Eve. We were parents - who goes out on New Year's Eve? We were just happy to be out!
When we entered the restaurant, we were so hungry and excited about our new adventure, that we really did not take the time to look around. I guess we missed the strange expression on the waiter's face when we walked in with our girls in pajama pants and sweatshirts, my husband in his everyday Detroit Tigers ball cap, and me with the oversized hoodie. We never really paid much attention to his nervous shifting or funny smile. He seemed like a nice guy, but a little "weird" acting, if you know what I mean. Hey - we just wanted a good meal in a new joint.
It was after we were seated, ordered our meal and began to eat the complimentary bread that we began to notice we were different than the other customers that night. While our oldest began to use her fingers to pull the soft bread out of the middle of the hard roll and our youngest was blowing milk bubbles, we began to scan the rest of the "joint". What we noticed were a lot of sequin gowns and black bow ties. We noticed linen table cloths with very high heels peeking out from under them. We noticed everyone else in the restaurant was ready for a black tie New Years Eve event after their dinner - and I think they may have noticed us.
After this quick analysis of the area, we decided it was too late to high tail it to McDonald's. It's funny how we felt quite normal when first arriving to the restaurant. We were excited about our spur of the moment evening out and enjoyed ordering from a new menu. When we became aware of our surroundings, we felt a tad out of place. It was, in my husband's words, reminiscent of "The Beverly Hillbillies" for those of you who know what that is. Of course, the service was so slow that night because it was packed full of Hollywood wanna-be's that we ended up entertaining those around for about two hours with our milk bubbles and hand claps the girls learned at camp. The waiter was so sorry for the wait, or maybe he was sorry he couldn't get us out of there faster - he offered a free dessert. My husband, who, without thinking, added to the "Clampett" theme by ordering four orders of cheesecake. He figured the man offered free dessert - we had four people, so four desserts to go please! (for mom and dad to eat after the ball drops and kids go to bed!) From the expression on the waiter's face, I don't know if he had meant ONE dessert or four, but I don't think he cared at that point - the four pieces of cheesecake in their boxes were on our table in moments with our bill and a smile that said, "can you please take these kids out of here now?"
I'm not sure if the glittering sequins or milk bubbles won on the entertainment that night, but we sure had something to laugh about. We still think of this time when a "Clampett moment" hits our family. I must say, it does tend to happen to us quite often!
We may not quite fit in with glitter and high heels most of the time, but you know what? Even though we felt silly for not wearing the correct dress code, or felt "second class" that night, we enjoyed our dinner with our adorable girls. We laughed at the milk bubbles and we were amazed at the hand clap game they showed us. People may have given us funny looks that night, but to be honest, we were so busy enjoying our family and laughing with our girls, I don't remember anyone there that night - only sequins, heels and black bow ties. I do remember the pajama pants, milk bubbles and empty bread crust. These are the memories I want to have. Who cares what those around us think? Do we want to lose our days trying to be what others expect us to be?
We could have looked around that night, apologized for our attire and bubbles while packing up and heading to the nearest fast food joint. We could have allowed the expectations of those around us to dictate how we felt about ourselves and even our kids. We could have missed out on the fun of experiencing a night of "Clampett" life!
Please don't look around you and forget who you are. Don't fall into a trap of trying to be someone else to impress those you work for or hang out with. You will miss out on all the fun. You will miss the enjoyment of just being you! So, next time you find yourself surrounded by sequins, don't run to the dress shop - all you have to do is blow a few bubbles and take time to laugh. Make memories with those you love even if those memories don't quite fit into the glittering surroundings around you!
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