Initially, I was thinking Disney had done it again: marginalized the mom. Which is better than Old Disney, which alway killed off the mom. Progress right.
But I either was inartful in my protest or Jeff was really dead-on because he's convinced me that the mother DID get full credit for being supportive. So I'm reflective. It's possible I'm not 100 percent on this one.
Also, I'm in a food coma.
We'd started the day with a long bike ride and a short walk already and had planned to have a healthy dinner with grilled vegtables and chicken burgers and sausage as part of our latest lose weight effort. Indiana right now is about as comfortable a place to be outside as a Mississippi swamp in August.
Instead, Jeff remembered a dining promotion for our little village and we walked into town for 317 Burgers. No one told us the burgers come with fries and the Chow Down Midtown deal was 3 items -- drink or dessert, appetizer and a burger.
Jeff and Ali ordered poutine. I opted for fried pickles instead of hummus as I'd had hummus for lunch. Jeff ordered two beers -- he'd made us a champagne cocktail before we decided to walk to dinner -- so I was happy to offer him my beer. Ali was set to try the funnel cake even though we wanted to try the Brics sampler platter after dinner.
Then the burgers and fries came. Even the black bean burger, which I got, was tremendous. And we all had a huge pile of fries on our plates.
We're big fans of the clean plate club but none of us made it. We offered Ali's dessert to anyone who wanted it and took a hard right home instead of a left to Brics.
Jeff asked me on the walk home -- as Ali walked ahead of us like she didn't know us -- if she "got" any of the important themes of the movie. I said probably not. She's a great kid, but she IS 14 and sometimes it IS all about her.
I convinced her to bike with me to lunch on Saturday. I was meeting a friend from work she didn't know and she both loathe to exercise and hang out with me and a friend. "Why, again, am I going?" she asked.
"One, I like to hang out with you; Two, I want you to try these tacos; and Three, I think you'll like Anna a lot. You like most of our friends."
She sighed and probably rolled her eyes but she was behind me so I didn't see it. Turns out Anna was 16 when she took her first solo, international flight. Her cool factor shot up like a geyser.
We were treated to a dissertation on how overprotective I am, how I'm to blame whenever Alison slips into colorful language and Alison's deep knowledge of alcoholic beverages courtesy of her mixologist father. Anna was very sweet to listen without rolling her eyes. Well, she was beside me and I couldn't see it if she did. (I don't know that I would have blamed her.. Ali was full-out on.)
And then, unexpectedly, Jeff and Duane Jasheway strolled in.
They were at a bourbon tasting a few blocks away but I thought they'd be there all afternoon. We'd talked about Indy Tacos being a good place to soak up their samplings.
They helped clean up our plates and then ordered their own. It was a fun gathering and may lead to a bigger gathering at Chez Reed when Kirsten can join us. I've been threatening a summer party for a while.
The biggest laugh from the movie for Ali was the boy's emotions when he bumped into Riley. Jeff and I liked the parental unit's internal voices -- but for different reasons I suspect. We're all agreed on the importance of shoring up our little family island for those rocky times ahead.
A good burger, every so often, is a good part of that.
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