The Art of Negotiation

One of the great things about choosing to eat healthier is that even eating at places like Chick-Fil-A becomes a treat. Tonight I decided to treat myself. Normally I would have just driven through but I decided to live a little and have the complete fast food experience by 'Dining In'. It was great. Dinner and a show. While I was eating I watched a young mother attempting to negotiate with her 5 year old son through the glass which seperates (and soundproofs i might add) the play area from the dining area. Apparently she was ready to leave and he wasn't.

She began by speaking to him through the glass as if it didn't exist. Did I mention that one of the functions of the glass is to contain the sounds of children at play within the play area? Yeah, it's sound proof. Undaunted by her initial failure to communicate her desire to leave, the mother raised her voice. When that failed as well she resorted to gestures which to me resembled an epileptic fit more than it did a form of communication. The 5 year old didn't get it either. A stream of promises/threats/getstures followed that. I did mention soundproof right? Unfortunately, I was on the same side of the glass that the mom was so while the 5 year old was in silent bliss, I was hearing every exasperated word. And what about dad? He was there, enjoying his meal and the show I'm sure. I couldn't see his face but I'm sure he was as amused by his son's ability to push his mom's buttons as I was. I wonder if it ever occured to her to simply walk into the play area, snatch the little nose miner up, and carry him out? Naaaa...that would make way too much sense. I think tomorrow I'll go see what's going on over at McDonald's.