The Best Part of the Night

We went out to dinner Tuesday night.  

This was a huge blessing to me, given the fact that my kitchen sink is not currently in place and my new dishwasher is not yet hooked up. 

The five of us were seated right away at a six-top, rather than crammed at a four-top... but that was not the best part of the night.

Our waiter was fabulous.  From offering to water down my youngest's cranberry juice to setting the kids' fries aside to cool a bit, he was perfect... but that was not the best part of the night.

Our food arrived promptly and was delicious... but that was not the best part of the night.

The entire bill for an appetizer, three kids' meals, two adult entrees, and five drinks (soda and juice, adult and child, respectively) was $26... but that was not the best part of the night.

Because the bill was so low due to fabulous promotions at Chili's, we were able to leave a rather monstrous tip to that awesome waiter... but that was not the best part of the night.

As I gathered my little ones and prepared to leave the restaurant, an elderly lady one table over touched my arm.  I turned and faced her and her husband:

Your children are so well-behaved.  Truly wonderful little ones.  You should be proud.

I was.

And THAT was the best part of the night.