Friendly's and The Quiet Game

The kids and I went to Friendly's for dinner today while the husband was coming home from a day working in NYC. The kids adore Friendly's. They socialize and find their friends. They like to do "the walk" where they walk around the restaurant looking for people they know. I cannot tolerate the food at this place. Even the salads are bad. So I can't stand going there, even though the kids love it.

The only food there that is edible is the most deep-fried, unhealthy food. Waffle fries. Chicken fingers in a variety of sauces. Right now there's a special with nine different funky sauces, including Buffalo Bleu Cheese, Sesame Oriental, and Root Beer BBQ. That, along with their normal Honey BBQ, Buffalo sauce, and others, are the only thing that makes going to Friendly's enjoyable.

After Friendly's, we went to the supermarket where the kids were out of control. They were running around and a bit loud. The boy stole an empty shopping cart... who knows if anyone was using it. The boy also wanted to walk around by himself to prove he was "a man." A ridiculous evening, I must say.

To calm them down, on the way home, in the car, I resurrected "The Quiet Game."

We haven't played this game in years. I'm sure every parent has tried it at one point or another, in some form. The rules are basically: Everyone be quiet. First one to make a noise loses. Last one to make a noise, wins. Awesome game for excited children of parents with headaches.

I used to play where I was the narrator. I used to call play-by-play about the silence, heckling and seeing if anyone would break, or whispering like a pro golf announcer. That worked at one point... the kids loved it. Right now, I just wanted quiet.

So, I said that we ALL were playing the game... starting ... NOW. The boy shut up quickly. The girl was laughing hysterically when I said it, coincidentally (or not so much). She then got a bit frustrated and called the game unfair - begging for a do-over. However, I knew that if I said, "OK," the boy would be thinking he won. So, I couldn't say anything. The girl whined and whined all the way home about it not being fair, and that she wanted to "put on" until Friday (I suppose that was meant to be "postpone".) Almost made me go crazy. But I kept quiet.

We got home (with our groceries and Friendly's ice cream, which we had To Go), and the game was still on. The girl was still whining and the husband was a little annoyed with it. I cleared my throat a little and the boy made an L on his forehead. I shook my head. The game was still going.

I couldn't stand the complaining from the girl and the husband anymore. I eventually put my hand out to the boy in a gesture for a "truce". He knew what I meant and we shook on it. I then answered a question from the girl - and the boy got all cocky and said he was crossing his fingers. He jumped for joy at his "win." He needs to learn to be a better competitor... we all knew that already. Or I won't take him to Friendly's anymore.