Oh, indeed. It can.
Chuck E. Cheese's is just my idea of hell for the mere fact that every child in the free world is running around like a strung-out crack whore; coupled with the fact that they are all touching the same things - and then eating.
Hey, Chuck! Ever heard of hand sanitizer?! They make dispensers that mount nicely to almost any wall.
Mind you, none of this means that my next child's birthday won't be held at Chuck E. Cheese's. That's just the way life works when you're a parent and detest something...
Anyhoo, on to my point (Yes. There is one. Shut up.):
The kids and I went to a birthday party there last night. My one sweet friend up here had a third birthday party for her son. And, since we all know three-year-olds don't really have friends of their own, it's one of the birthday parties where Mom can just invite her friends (and their kids). Sweet Friend invited me so she could introduce me to some of her friends - seriously, Sweet Friend.
For the majority of the time, Elizabeth chose to climb in the kiddie tube that ran around the ceiling of one of the corners of the restaurant. I had visions of her getting lost or stuck up there, so I stood underneath trying to watch her shadow as it moved through the tube. She would stop periodically at the windows and wave to me. And, one of the corners was basically a mesh-sided box. She would stop there, we would chat and she would move on.
She picked up a boy friend, as she is apt to do. (Truly. She much prefers boys. Uh-oh.) They made their way to the mesh box and she yelled, "Hi, Mama!"
I said, "Hi, Lulu!"
He yelled, "Hi!"
I said, "Hi!"
He said, "That's my mom!" He pointed to a woman snuggled up to a man in a booth. The two were gazing longingly into each other's eyes and whispering sweet-nothings to each other. You would have thought they were at an intimate French bistro - not sitting in the middle of Chuck E. Cheese's.
And, the boy yelled, "But, that's not my dad... That's Aiden's dad."
Awesome. Does Aiden know?
