The Big DumpTruck

Go ahead, say it. Say I don't look a day over 39. And then I'll respond "I look *2* days over 39!"

Once members of my family actually remembered it was my birthday, of course (hey thanks for the call this morning, sis! I'm guessing you will be adding a few items to the bag of presents you bought me, huh?). It was uncle Crank's birthday yesterday too, so I should mention that here.

I have a couple of favorite restaurants that I don't get to eat at very often because of Junior's limited acceptable food list. So we don't go to those unless he's not with us. I was telling my mother that I wanted to go to the Japanese steakhouse at Chopsticks, but we would have to wait on it until she could watch him and it wasn't a school night. Here's the interesting thing - when I picked Junior up at aftercare, the first thing he asked me was where I wanted to have my birthday dinner. And then, with no prompting, he said "And we can even go to the Japanese restaurant at the Chinese restaurant if you want." I was floored. How did he pick that, remembering that I liked it, of all the places we go or have gone to?

In the end, though, it turns out that you can't order any of the Chinese restaurant food (what Junior would have eaten) if you are sitting in that section, so it will have to wait. Instead, I called my favorite restaurant and asked if they had anything on the menu with pasta and red sauce. The person who answered told me they had a seafood cacciatore. Well, I said my 7 year old wouldn't want that, and he said "We have marinara, and we have pasta, so we'll take care of you."

Wow! That means that for the first time ever, we'd be able to take Junior out to eat at my favorite restaurant, the Monument Grill! It's my once-a-year place, but I love it. The sweet potato ravioli are killer (I get the appetizer because I find getting it as an entree is just overwhelming), and there is a wonderful pinot grigio on the menu. Mom and Dad joined us, and I realized they'd never been there. How can that even be possible? Anyway, it was a great meal with good company. I was a happy girl.

Oh, and for those of you who aren't familiar, yes, that is Monument Grill as in Monument, the name of the town in the book I Am The Cheese by Robert Cormier. Cormier, a Leominster resident, had based it Leominster. This restaurant is across the street from Monument Park, which is where Cormier got the name. (I actually assume the restaurant is named after the park, but by default it covers both.) That's your English 101 class for today. Recess!