Our Little Tenderheart

Five minutes ago, Miss came tip-toeing down the basement stairs, calling "mommy? mommy??"

"What are you doing out of bed?" I asked, smiling at this little girl in her fuzzy, footed pajamas.

"Well, Mommy, I need you to take me back to bed, and pray with me about that scary restaurant."

Ah, the scary restaurant. One week ago, Mr. and I had the unfortunate idea of taking the children to the Rainforest Cafe in the nearby Mall of America. If you have dined at this establishment, you know that it offers so-so food in a jungle-themed setting. Gorillas descend from the ceiling and dance at appointed times, and the sound effects of thunderstorms punctuate your meal. There are many colorful and bright decorations meant to attract children, including aquariums scattered throughout the dining room, and there is even a man who roves from table to table fashioning balloon animals.

We should have know that this was not the place for Miss. When she was but a year old we took her to the same chain at Downtown Disney in California, and she was thoroughly horrified by the experience. She was shaking and crying and had to be removed from the premises immediately.

Now, at the ripe old age of 3 and a half, we thought that perhaps she would enjoy it. We happened upon it as we walked through the mall, and asked her if she wanted to go in. She thought it looked like fun, and so we decided to give it a try.

Bad decision.

All was well at first, and we placed our dinner order. Miss looked at the aquarium, Master took it all in stride, and Mr. and I had a discussion about how we would rather *die* than have the job of our safari-guide / waiter.

Then, the gorillas began to dance.

It was all over. Miss was in my lap, crying and holding onto me for dear life. She has had bad dreams ever since.

Miss has a very tender heart, and we are beginning to realize that this aspect of her character will not be changing drastically anytime soon. And so, we will work to protect her. We help her hide her eyes when we pass by a store with frightening Halloween costumes on display. We fast forward through Veggie Tales songs that make her uncomfortable.

And we most definitely will not EVER be going to the Rainforest Cafe again.