ABCZ

Total rookie mistake tonight...baby brain is getting the best of me.

We went to dinner at Red Lobster, and the waitress told Anna, on our way in, that if she ate all her veggies she could hold a lobster from the live tank when we left. Anna was thrilled by this. So, she talked about it all during dinner.

At one point, she was playing with her crab leg pincher, and said, "Can I touch the lobster with this when I hold it?"

I said, "No." And when prompted why, I said, "Because that's dirty and people don't want dirty things touching the lobster they're going to eat." Oops.

She immediately got this stricken, horrified look on her face and said, "WHAT?!! Eat them?! They're going to KILL MY LOBSTER?!!!"

This is one of those top ten finest parenting moments. It was a perfect opportunity for a talk about nature, life cycles, food chains and such. So, I did what any self respecting parent would do...I totally lied.

"N-n-n-nooo. Um...no, they're not going to eat THOSE lobsters. Those are like pets. Probably some other lobsters. Not those." Curtis was NO help - he was crying he was laughing so hard.

She sighed a big sigh and said, "Whew! I thought so. Those are like the mascots of the restaurant then? I'm really glad they're not going to kill THEM."

Of course, we spent the rest of dinner trying to block her view of the table next to us, who - insensitive schmucks that they were - all ordered lobsters. So, in case it ever comes up, those Lobsters in the tank at Red Lobster - TOTALLY pets, not for eating. Back me up here.