Out With the Old (My New Birthday Tradition)

(A couple of photos from Cafe Cluny b-days.)

When I was a kid, my mom made it a birthday tradition to take me and my brothers to FAO Schwarz for toys, followed by Trump Tower for food. Yes, that Trump Tower. It was close to the toy mecca, and there was a cool waterfall in the restaurant. One time we even saw the eponymous namesake, and we were impressed (at the time). Of course this was years before The Apprentice, before genital grabbing and before his sickening presidency. In retrospect it seems a bit of an odd restaurant choice, but we enjoyed it. It was our special birthday tradition.

Fast forward like thirty years and now I am a mama with my own offsprings' special birthdays to celebrate. I didn't sit down and think about doing a b-day tradition. It slipped my mind. Or maybe I blocked out my own childhood b-day tradition because, Trump. But for the past couple of years we've gone to one special restaurant as a family for birthdays. (In addition to a date night for me and hubs.) It's not a kid restaurant but they're accommodating (with crayons) and we go super early, before the crazy busy dinner crowd. Liv loves getting french fries and pink lemonade. Mia loves to people watch. Hubs and I love getting delicious grownup food and wine. Win win win. And it feels like such a special, us, tradition. No dictator vibes present - besides that of my toddler ;)

AES