What Do You Want To Do For Lunch Today?

We have this question posed in our house all the time.   In general, it’s acknowledged by the other person and then not addressed.   It’s not that the question is a bad one, it’s just that it’s not an easy one to answer.    We’re always trying to find something new, something fun, something different.  I abhor doing the same thing all the time.   But to be fair, I also like certain places and I like to go back frequently (sushi and Mexican for example.)

So we hedge.   We avoid, not intentionally, until one of us says, “we still need to figure out what we’re doing for lunch.”   Today we decided to do something new.   We asked the children where they wanted to go for lunch.   I was not one bit surprised with what they cried out in happiness.    But we had to direct them in their answers to the question.   My husband and I had decided to bike them to lunch, and there were only so many places we could a) bike to in reasonable time, b) safely bike to from our house, and c) be willing to eat at hot and sweaty with biking gear on.  

We weren’t surprised at the request for Chic-Fil-A and said, “yes!  We’re going to bike there for lunch!”   Much merriment was had (over the destination, not so much over the method of getting there.)   We got dressed, put helmets on, took helmets off because we forget every time that they can’t get the harness on over their helmet once they’re in the bike seat.   After harnessing and putting on all of our helmets, we set off.  

We had decided on the longer route to get there, because my husband said that way would come out “right there” after we crossed the bridge.   There was also a very large, steep hill I knew how to run up, but wasn’t sure how biking up would go with a child on the back of our bikes.  

We went about seven miles in the park on dirt roads and crossed a bridge, going above the interstate highway and back onto pavement.   This was the part where we go just a bit and we’re, “right there.” It was a this point I became skeptical.

You see, the restaurant was at one exit, and we’d gone the long way around to the next bridge to then head back towards the restaurant.   I knew, but perhaps had blocked from my mind, that from that bridge we were currently crossing, you couldn’t even see the prior exit.   We weren’t even remotely close to, “right there” but at this point, we were committed.

It turned out to be not that bad, excepting a long, steep hill at a point my children were ready to eat.  We arrived at the Chick-Fil-A and as we parked our bikes this lady approached us, telling us we had just missed Santa Claus.   She showed pictures of him in his summer clothes on her phone and explained they were collecting food goods to distribute to children in our area who didn’t have enough food to eat each day.   My children were very interested.   They were particularly interested in the large, cardboard bin and how empty the bin was.   We talked about the importance of helping those in need.

We had a rather uneventful fast food lunch after that and then headed back home.  The rumbling of the bikes on the gravel was too much for both children and they fell asleep half-way home.   I had a nice time riding both there and back with the children and my husband.  It was a fun and different way to answer that question, “what do you want to do for lunch today?”

The Big Boy Update:  It was almost time to get on our bicycles today to head to lunch.   I couldn’t find my children for a minute and then I realized they were hiding under the dining room table.   I called out to them to hear my son answer, “we’re not here, we’re out of town.”

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter and I did a lot of singing on the way to lunch today.   We biked there and back and she and I would sing songs together along the way.   She also wanted to work on her counting and we practiced counting to one-hundred.

Fitness Update:  We biked about fifteen miles to and from Chick-Fil-A today for lunch with the children on the backs of our bikes.   We all had fun.