This past weekend, with his grandparents in town, they took the whole family out for dinner on Sunday evening. Fourteen of us, including aunts, an uncle, and cousins met at Kai’s favorite Mexican restaurant.
On the way to the restaurant, we tried to prep him. This will be a little different than when we go by ourselves, we told him. Everyone will want to talk and we will be at the restaurant a long time. We will take our time and not rush to leave.
Still, we were nervous. It was only recently that we’ve started to feel more comfortable in going out to eat with him. But that’s just with going out by ourselves. Going to a restaurant with others was still uncommon, and we were not sure how long Kai would tolerate our socializing before he would want to leave.
It didn’t help that the service, which had always been good when we went there before, was incredibly slow on this night. As the wait for our meals extended over an hour, we all were getting restless. Kai’s cousins had their heads down on the table. The adults had concerned looks on their faces. I was feeling hungry and impatient.
And yet, through it all, Kai seemed remarkably unfazed. He asked when his taco would come, but not any more often than the other kids did, and certainly far less often than I was asking the same question in my head.
To pass the time, he started talking about a Giant Taco falling from the sky and landing on everyone. His cousins thought that was funny and added on to the story. With all the laughing, we were able to last until the food arrived without a major incident. On my part, I mean.
I don’t know why Kai is having so much trouble at school this month. But, I do know that despite those issues, he is showing amazing progress in so many other ways. If you don’t believe me, just ask the Giant Taco.
Well done Kai :)
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