The Pact

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In honor of Valentine's week, I am posting a note written by my valentine. Once you read it you will quickly understand why I love this man. He is so much more than just "Music Guy". Enjoy!

The Pact
Like it happened just last week I remember making a pact with my wife Denice. But it wasn’t last week at all. It was some twelve years ago when our oldest child Ethan was about three. The pact was made in the basement of an old church. Now, I know that sounds a little creepy but stay with me; it’s really quite wonderful.

You see, the building no longer served a congregation of worshipers but instead, an interesting collection of consumers. Upstairs, in what would have been the sanctuary was a quant little music store. And the basement, which opened onto a parking lot (for the structure was built into the side of a hill), no doubt was once a fellowship hall and the place where the pact was made. It had been turned into a restaurant/grocery store. Good Earth was the name of the restaurant and really, the name probably tells the story. The employees at the restaurant looked exactly like you would expect employees who work at a place called Good Earth to look; very...earthy. The food was all home made, vegetarian and very delicious. And there we sat with our toddler, enjoying food we knew was good for us in an eclectic, non-commercialized atmosphere completely opposite of a McDonald’s or Burger King. We talked about our appreciation for all of the things this little place provided. We started talking about Ethan and how we wanted to help him develop the same appreciation for ambiance and truly good food.

So, the pact was made: We agree to not be a “fast-food-family”, we won’t give in to the “McDonald’s melay”, the “barrage of Burger King” or the “tyranny of Taco Bell”. And the journey began. Now, that’s not to say over the years we’ve never darkened the door of a FFR (fast food restaurant) because we have. But we have continued to place priority on a higher thing. And it’s obvious our kids have caught on.

Tuesday this week we were all in Oklahoma City and stopped at one of our favorite places; Redcup; great coffee, food that makes you smile and atmosphere with a capital A! We stayed as long as we could and on the way out of town we passed a Taco Bell. The commercial/institutional ad in the window promoted some sort of burrito with a tricky little name for .89 cents I think. Sarcastically, I said, “Hey kids, (in a very disappointed tone) look, we could have Taco Bell Oooohhh!” Suddenly, the whole car was caught up in the comedy, Denice looked at me and said, “Do you remember the pact?” to which I replied, “Yes, I do, and I think we’ve accomplished the mission!”