After a family swim, B and I decided to take the kids to a restaurant for dinner. After finding out there was a 45-minute wait at our favourite spot, we ended up at one of those cookie-cutter non-descript chain restaurants.

We waited nearly an hour for our mediocre food, which left lots of time to entertain the kids. Luckily there were some crayons and we encouraged the boys to colour on the paper tablecloth.

Anyway, after a few minutes had passed, I looked down and noticed A had started writing his name. He already had “A-I” done, and we watched in amazement as he printed “D-A-N”. He’s really good with his letters and can spell his own name, but I had no idea he could actually print it as well. B quickly whipped out the camera and we took a picture of A with his first written word.

So in the end, an otherwise forgettable dinner became a family milestone that we’ll talk about years from now. Thank you, big chain restaurant, for providing us with the slow service, paper tablecloth, and crayons that served as the catalyst for this momentous event.