A Big Step

Recently I did something with my kids for the first time that previously, I didn’t think would be possible. I took them both, by myself, to eat inside at Chick-Fil-A. You might be thinking “OK…and? So what? I do that all the time.”

This experience tested different areas of myself, particularly around areas of control. First and foremost, as a mom to someone with cystic fibrosis, most Chick-Fil-A locations offered something scary: an indoor playground. We used to not eat inside our local Chick-Fil-A specifically because of these indoor playgrounds with: the germs, the enclosed space and airflow, the other kids and their potential coughs and colds. What if there was another kid with CF and we didn’t know? I couldn’t get in and sanitize the space and as a crawling toddler, Margo’s hands were CONSTANTLY in her mouth. All of these risks could send me spiraling.

Cystic fibrosis health risks at restaurants

Eating inside posed another challenge of having to tell Margo no. She saw other kids playing and having fun and she had to miss out on that experience because of the risks to her health. She was too young to understand the logic behind this “no” so it risked resulting in a toddler-sized meltdown. How is that fair? Short answer: it’s not. We constantly have to make decisions like this on the basis of Margo’s safety and it never gets easier. Eating inside Chick-Fil-A became a hard no. We would always get our food to go and eat it either on the road or at home.

Then the pandemic happened. My fears were quieted because eating indoors wasn’t an option for our family for a long time AND our local restaurant closed their indoor playground. We took advantage of mobile ordering or the drive through. Margo doesn’t like a lot of other fast food places, so when the need arose for a quick meal we all like that is high in salt and fat, Chick-Fil-A is our go-to.

A win

Fast forward to 2024. We are pretty much back to normal, or at least the CF-version of normal. When eating at Chick-Fil-A we still typically do mobile ordering or drive through and eat it on the go. One night I had both girls with me after Margo’s ballet class and my husband was traveling for work, and I hadn’t thought out dinner plans yet. I suggested Chick-Fil-A and Margo asked if we could eat inside the restaurant.

I hesitated. It would have been easy to insist on picking it up and eating it on the go, but I wanted something different and perhaps exciting for the girls. Margo is five and a half now and it is world's different from when she was a toddler. The play center was still closed so that wasn’t a concern from a sanitation standpoint. We rarely eat out and this could serve as a fun way to practice. I said yes and we had a great time. Margo helped me wipe the table down with sanitizing wipes and we found the plastic disposable place mats they provide. We had countless ketchup packets at our table and Ruby made a big mess but it was FUN. And I was proud that I did it by myself. A small victory, but a victory nonetheless.