People that eat at Chilis are the happiest people. Or Red Robin or Applebees or TGI Fridays. You get the idea. A family friendly casual dining restaurant. Enjoy a carved turkey sandwich at Delta Sonic gas station for goodness sake. If you can be perfectly happy, and yes get excited about going out to dinner at one of these chains – I have a good hunch your life will be much more content. We tend to believe that a bigger house, an expensive dinner, a sports car, all make us happy. But that’s just not the case.

You see, we are really setting high expectations out there. It starts so early with posting pictures of our 8 year old little girls getting manicures and pedicures and it explodes with sweet 16 extravagant birthday parties with new cars, sporting oversized big bows parked in the driveway. If you are 16, you don’t need a car. It will complicate your life. All you need is a family dinner to celebrate with your mom and dad and any brothers and sisters and grandparents you may be blessed to have in your life. It’s hearing family stories that make you feel good. A Louis Vuitton backpack does not make you happy. It adds pressure to your life to look and act a certain way. Nothing feels better than you mom asking you what your favorite home cooked meal is so she can make it for you. Invite your friends over for cake and a game of kick the can in the yard. That’s a happy 16 year old.

Being happy eating at Chilis is really just a way of saying  we all need to be content with life on a lesser grander scale. We are all on a fast track platform to disappointment. The stress is hard enough coming up with a prom date much less having heightened show of promposals all over the internet. C’mon most kids don’t have a clue who will be their prom date. A guy should be able to simply ask a girl quietly to go to prom. Having someone ask you privately at your locker on the way to the class is happy!

I am reminded of my Aunt Mary, who enjoyed a 55 cent cup of coffee at Burger King over a Starbucks. She would meet her friends there after daily mass and simply enjoyed their connection. You are not going to see an instragram post of a Burger King cup of coffee but you will find a table of friends laughing and enjoying their little “treat” for the day.

I feel the unnecessary burden our young people are under to look the part and play the part of pretending things are just so grand. The perfect filters to hide any flaws or extra bulges and just feeling the if I don’t doctor up the picture and tweak out our imperfections you will be criticized. How crazy is this?

All these thoughts came to me the other day when I did sit down to eat at Chilis. Evan and I laughed that the drinks were 2 for 1, that if you join the rewards club chips and salsa are free. You can have a sizzling streak or chicken fajitas with sides of rice and beans for 10 dollars. You can have a molten cake with a chocolate covered ice cream ball on top for next to nothing. Yet we think we need to go to the top 10 ranked restaurants and pay 14 dollars for a glass of wine, not sure what menu offering looks good  and pay extra for sides. When we leave these places we certainly have a memory but it’s usually a memory of paying too much. Let’s not forget the added stress to make the reservations weeks in advance. 

Please don’t think that I am only into chain restaurants with manufactured meals. I’m a regular at the Lexington Co-Op and Cole’s and Vino’s are my favorite restaurants. Nothing is more beautiful than breakfast at the Hotel Henry. Yet, I don’t need to defend. 

I smiled when I saw the waiters and waitresses come streaming out of the kitchen clapping and singing to a table “Happy, Happy Birthday from the Chili’s Crew! We wish it was our birthday, so we could party too!

Clap Along.

Let your guard down.

And wear a shirt from Target.

Now that’s happy.

Sincerely, Trish

Tags : Chilis, Family Friendly Restaurants, Happy, Target