"Restaurant guest saves toddler from life of dentures"

purple tiny tulip, originally uploaded by brungrrl.

Tonight we entrusted our baby boy to a non-related babysitter and had dinner out with friends. Big night for us, as you can imagine! The sitter (our friends' daughter) was great and even said she'd do it again. Whew, good to know our kid isn't one of those kids who drives sitters away. (At least not yet, I realize it's a slippery slope!)

We ate at a restaurant that we only eat at about once a year because it's such a splurge for us... Basi Italia. We ate outside on the patio. I love this time of year... dining outside is the best.

Several exciting things happened tonight... We were off to the side of the outdoor dining area having drinks and chatting while waiting on our table. We were seated with the guys on one side and girls on the other side of the walkway to the street and front entrance of the restaurant. A toddler girl walked by and was checking us out, as toddlers do. Well, she was so intent on watching us that she didn't notice she was approaching a step down. John's dad-instincts clicked in a flash and he grabbed her just in time.

When I say "just in time", she still suffered a scratch on her ankle, but her face was just inches from the stone walkway when he made contact with her. I barely knew what was going on when I realized what he had done. The little girl's dad came over and got her... she was pretty upset over the whole ordeal. My husband might have won himself some brownie points in my book over this save....

We got seated, had appetizers, devoured our meals, chatted and laughed, and then had coffee and desserts. Keep in mind as I tell this next part, my friend Becka is NOT one to act squeamish or get freaked out over silly things. After we finished dessert, she was looking just over Jenny's shoulder and said, "OH MY... YOU GUYS." And she stopped. "THERE IS A RAT OVER THERE." Just as I looked up, I saw a little pointy-nosed, white-faced creature pop up in the shrubbery by the fence. LOL! It's not a RAT... it's a possum! And a baby possum, no less!

This restaurant is small... the patio area is small. It's like dining in your neighbor's back yard. So when someone says "a rat"... 6 tables full of people look up! And as baby possums will do before they learn to fear people, this one decided to get a closer look at the crowd. So he walked around the perimeter of the fence (as we all raised our feet) and headed toward the kitchen. Just as the waitress shewed him the other way, a lady at the next table let out a shriek. Her date had accidentally touched her leg and obviously, her first thought was "POSSUM!!"

Fabulous night out... I'm still smiling. Happy outdoor dining season to all!