When I was little, my favorite place in the whole world was probably the Rainforest Cafe`. My mom began taking me when it opened up at the outlets when she was pregnant with Rachel in '97, & I have vivid memories of her taking us with our friends in Boston. She says we all used to cry whenever the thunderstorm started and the leopards & elephants & gorillas became noisy-- I also remember being afraid that the alligator would get bored sitting there in the water & come out to snack on a little pig-tailed girl {though that didn't stop me from leeching a penny or two off Mommy to toss at it}. See, it was not the 3rd grade rainforest unit and my project on the sword-billed hummingbird that led to my childhood fascination with the jungle. Rather it was at this pricy little restaurant eating lava cake that I realized how much I wanted to explore the world-- watching the animated stars twinkling through the colorful fabric flowers, the circulated rain trickling, the mechanical animals roaring, the mist bouncing off the the great golden man as he held up the globe with the words "Rescue the Rainforest." It was all something so silly, yet it sparked a curiosity and desire of the earth that only caught fire with nostalgic excitement when my dream came true & I got to finally behold the jungles of Peru & Hawaii.
So as you can imagine, I was probably a little more excited than a 17-year-old should be when, one Saturday that half my family was busy, my mom randomly offered to take Liv, Sophie and I back to this restaurant. I absolutely could not repress a smile as the waitress in her safari outfit led us under the tropical-fishtank archway to our seat beneath the toucan-- but I couldn't help it. There were too many memories, too many childhood dreams born here to simply sit there bored, Besides, an animated jungle cafe`? How is that not cool?
But that's the thing. I want life to be like that in many ways. I want to get overexcited about little things just because I'm easily entertained & I find living to be joyful in general. I pretty much vow to take my future children to the Rainforest Cafe`-- but I want to find cherished memories in more than just little restaurants, to establish traditions that make me, us smile at the tiniest thought of them. Life is beautiful & there is so much to offer & I want to be a dreamer with a big imagination and open heart. Because what else is the point of being here?
So as you can imagine, I was probably a little more excited than a 17-year-old should be when, one Saturday that half my family was busy, my mom randomly offered to take Liv, Sophie and I back to this restaurant. I absolutely could not repress a smile as the waitress in her safari outfit led us under the tropical-fishtank archway to our seat beneath the toucan-- but I couldn't help it. There were too many memories, too many childhood dreams born here to simply sit there bored, Besides, an animated jungle cafe`? How is that not cool? But that's the thing. I want life to be like that in many ways. I want to get overexcited about little things just because I'm easily entertained & I find living to be joyful in general. I pretty much vow to take my future children to the Rainforest Cafe`-- but I want to find cherished memories in more than just little restaurants, to establish traditions that make me, us smile at the tiniest thought of them. Life is beautiful & there is so much to offer & I want to be a dreamer with a big imagination and open heart. Because what else is the point of being here?
