The Kindness of a Stranger

It's sunny.  It's warm.  Mickey Mouse is everywhere.  We are on vacation and having a blast!  We spent one day at Hollywood Studios and one exhausting fun filled day at Magic Kingdom.  Tomorrow we will revisit Magic Kingdom.  Jilly will be happy.  Today, we relaxed at the resort and Jilly could be overheard saying, "I want my Country Bears.  I want my teacups."  In her sleep, she sat up and said, "I see Mickey Mouse!  I see Daisy!  I see Goofy!  I see Monsters, Inc.!  I see Handy Bandy (Manny)!  I see Buzz Lightyear!"  Then she promptly drifted back to sleep.  B absolutely loved the Buzz Lightyear ride.  He rode it at least 5 times.  His other favorites were the Flying Dumbo ride and the Spinning Teacups.  It's hard to believe this is the same little boy that last year couldn't swing without freaking out.  He's come a long way!

We're also on vacation from the rotation diet.  He's  not eating anything he's allergic to, but he gets to choose his snacks and meals.  And he's eating...a lot!  I think we'll stick with the rotation when we get back home, but have rotation vacations once in a great while.  I'm hoping he doesn't develop new allergies because of this, but I think for the sake of our (his and mine) sanity, this is greatly needed.

Have you ever met a person who goes above and beyond to help you out?  I'm going to create a blog post soon about these wonderful people in our lives.  For now, I'd like to write about Chef Ray.  A few nights ago, we made reservations to Planet Hollywood.  Erik called the restaurant and told them about B's food allergies on the off chance there might be something on the menu B could eat.  This was kind of a long shot.  Ninety-nine percent of the time we bring B's food to restaurants.  Chef Ray got on the phone and asked for B's allergy list.

The next evening, we arrived at Planet Hollywood.  The kids were grumpy and tired.  A full day of Disney seems to have that effect.  It was very late.  When we were finally seated, Chef Ray came to our table.  He looked B in the eye and said, "What do you like to eat?"  It may sound like an ordinary question, but for B it's not one he hears often.  Silly me, I tried to answer it for him.  "He likes chicken."  Then B said, "Mommy, I don't like chicken."  Chef Ray asked if he liked french fries and B's whole face lit up, "Yeah!  French Fries!"
Then that wonderful chef prepared B a meal of turkey roll ups, fancy sliced strawberries, and french fries from scratch with an oil B could tolerate.  B was ecstatic!  He forgot about being grumpy and tired.  As he ate, he said, "I LOVE this place!  It's my favorite!"  I was so very touched by this man's thoughtfulness.  Although the restaurant was crazy busy, he took the time to make the evening special for B.  His kindness created a memory for my boy that he will not soon forget.