Having Dinner Outside
The mother we will be talking about in this story only wanted nothing but a nice dinner, but her daughter might throw a tantrum and cause an embarrassing scene in front of everyone in the restaurant. Requesting for a meal to be “to-go” should not have been that hard, but what led to this simple request to become a trending Facebook post? What made them refuse this single mother’s request while she was trying her best to make ends meet?
Having Dinner Outside
Tough Decision
Courtney Pedigo was a bit troubled; she was uncertain of what to do! She thought to herself that she and her family should be able to enjoy a dinner out but was quite concerned with how her daughter will be acting in a restaurant. Nevertheless, she made a firm decision. She was going to take her family out to Olive Garden. However, she was unaware of how the restaurant will be treating her and her daughter in this unfortunate chain of events.
Tough Decision
She Was Like A Mother
Having a maternal instinct has always been a part of Courtney; she is known to play and interact with all of her nieces, nephews, and even cousins! Although she loves all of them dearly and takes care of them very well, she never dealt with their tantrums, seeing the fact that she has the option of just returning the kids to their parents whenever they start acting up. She indeed loves kids, and that’s a known fact, but she wasn’t prepared for a commitment like that yet. But something surprising happened.
She Was Like A Mother
The Baby
As she finally saw her baby girl for the first time, she knew that she would do everything in her power to raise this child. She called her “Harlyn,” and she was strong-willed and dedicated to making sure that she would succeed in giving whatever life had in store for her baby. Naturally, the first few months were a bit of a challenge, and she struggled much more whenever she doesn’t get to see her kid. The more time she spent with her baby, she realized that she needed to meet other people too.
The Baby
The Dinner
Courtney arrived at the North Carolina restaurant with her family that consists of her father, stepmother, their friends, and Courtney’s baby daughter. Courtney felt that she deserves to have an enjoyable dinner without having to mind other people staring at her daughter’s tantrums. Courtney went into the restaurant and was met by a nice waitress with a greeting. She expected the night to be a casual one without any worries or whatsoever. Little did she know, the night will be quite dramatic.
The Dinner
Tantrums
Courtney’s daughter started screaming as soon as she was sat in the restaurant’s high chair. The other customers were bothered by the noise Harlynn made as they tried to finish their starters. Courtney was embarrassed by Harlynn’s screaming, making her uneasy, not wanting to eat the food nor sit still. She decided to take action and finally went to a waitress to ask her if they can take out the food instead. The restaurant was quite busy at the time, which made their request a bit difficult to grant.
Tantrums
Courtney’s Request
After a while, Courtney finally managed to catch the attention of a waitress and asked her if they can have their food to be to-go. She was well aware that her daughter’s screams and noises hassled everyone else and did not want to bother the people anymore. She politely asked the waitress with her request, hoping for it to be done since it’s a simple request. Instead, she was met with an answer that no one could have expected!
Courtney S Request
Sit Down And Enjoy Your Dinner
Taken by surprise, Courtney was shocked when the waitress refused and answered with a straight “No.” Is it even right to refuse a simple request of having the food she paid for being repackaged for a takeout? The mother understood that the restaurant is busy at night, and it would take a while for them to take their request, which is why Courtney tried to be polite with them. Still, she was taken aback by the fact that a prestigious restaurant such as the Olive Garden refused to consider her request and was told that “You’re going to go sit down and enjoy your dinner.”
Sit Down And Enjoy Your Dinner
Other Options
Courtney thought of solutions and believed that if they could instead finish their meals inside the car, other patrons will not be bothered by Harlynn’s tantrums, that should be the better option for both her and the restaurant, right? And if the restaurant refused to give them their food so they can eat it outside, they would go hungry! Why was it even a big deal for the waitress to put the meal they paid for in boxes for them?
Other Options
She Can’t Stand It Anymore
Courtney returned to her seat in a state of shock. She was well aware that bringing Harlynn to the restaurant caused a bit of trouble for everyone else in there as they try to enjoy their meals. Still, if the waitress accepted her request to have their food-to-go, this wouldn’t be much of a problem since they would be able to stop bothering everyone else while being happy with the food that they paid for. She was deciding on whether to look for the manager in charge or not but was a bit hesitant, for she doesn’t know how much longer she can stay in there.
She Can’t Stand It Anymore
A Terrible Happening
Harlyn started to act up much more, and as she began to kick her heels against the table, Courtney was sure that something terrible is bound to happen. She was mortified after realizing that the other patrons were beginning to complain. She knows that all eyes were on her and her daughter’s scene, but Courtney was getting angry too! She has experienced terrible service to a lot of times because of Harlynn acting up, but what Olive Garden is doing is just too much.
A Terrible Happening
You May Not Leave
Before she was able to think of what she’d do next, the waitress finally went to their table. Courtney was relieved and thought that the waitress probably changed her mind and decided to go to their table to pick up their food and pack them for takeout. Sadly, this was not the case as the waitress once again refused their request of a to-go box so they could calm the baby down. The angered mother is fed up with being treated so poorly.
You May Not Leave
She Couldn’t Believe What She Heard
The 24-year-old waitress Nianni Rudder told everyone at Courtney’s table once again: “You’re going to sit down and enjoy your dinner.” Courtney’s eyes widened in disbelief! Why is the waitress refusing to help her? Courtney knew that this action is too much and was unacceptable. With the baby’s screams angering her even more, Courtney decided to open her mouth, approach the waitress, and give her a taste of her own medicine. But Nianni wasn’t done.
She Couldn T Believe What She Heard
Sitting Down With The Baby
“You’re going to go sit down and enjoy your dinner, and I will be there to sit with her!” Nianni told the stressed-out mother. Courtney can’t believe what she was hearing. She was speechless! Harlyn would not sit down nor behave for her mother, and she certainly would never do it for a total stranger! Courtney does not want to stay any more second in the restaurant, she was fed up with all the people staring and murmuring, but Courtney couldn’t believe what she was seeing! Harlyn sat down and was giggling with Nianni!
Sitting Down With The Baby
An Amazing Night
Courtney expressed in a post that she made on Facebook: “I actually got to eat my food while it was still hot!” and she had more to say! She said that Nianni was actually an amazing person to be with, and she was in total shock because nothing like that scenario has ever happened before to her. She also says that she just wanted to give the spotlight and appreciation to the said waitress for taking the time to sit down with her baby girl despite the stress caused by the rush hour.
An Amazing Night
She Also Dealt With Babies
Nianni is certainly not new to the mood swings that young children have. Her niece recently graduated from the so-called “Terrible-twos” a normal stage in a child’s development in which a toddler can regularly bounce between reliance on adults and a newly burgeoning desire for independence. To the so-called “Terrifying-threes” which is the phase wherein the babies will be acting up a LOT, and their tantrums are nothing more than demonstrations that you are their safe place. Nianni was aware of how irascible babies can get when they’re hungry, grumpy, etc. But what would her manager think of her taking a break?
She Also Dealt With Babies
The Motto
Nianni said that her managers are terrific people and that their motto in the restaurant is “When you are here, you are family” and if she had to sit down a couple of moments to help a young lady calm her baby so that they may be able to eat, then she’d gladly do so every day if she could. Nianni’s act of kindness to the family is certainly an inspiration to all and her efforts certainly haven’t gone unnoticed!
The Motto
The Post That Went Viral
Courtney was touched by what Nianni did for her and her family. She dedicated a Facebook post to showcase the waitress’ act of kindness, accompanied by a photo of the waitress feeding baby Harlynn ice-cream. After telling the story of what happened at Olive Gardens, Courtney continued to give Nianni her praise for being kind to them. The whole situation might have started poorly, but it definitely went on to be a heartwarming story for us to read.
The Post That Went Viral
Nianni’s Gesture
The post made by Courtney on Facebook has gained a lot of likes, reactions, and comments. Everyone on the internet was touched by Nianni’s gesture, what she did was very heartwarming and is a very inspiring story to read. A lot of mothers, sisters, aunts, and women, in general, have given their praise to Nianna for understanding a mother’s struggle. But are the people in the restaurant aware of what has happened? We may never know.
Nianni’s Gesture
Appreciation
Courtney told the 24-year-old waitress that she does not know how much she appreciates her for what he did for them that night. And according to her she also said that she admires Nianni for taking the time, and tolerating her just so she could help baby Harlynn calm down by bribing her with sweets for everyone else to be able to eat. But as for Nianni? As far as she is concerned, she was merely doing her job.
Appreciation
An Act of Kindness
Nianni has a three-year-old niece and completely understood the situation that Courtney was in. She felt the need to help them out and made sure that Courtney stays inside the restaurant which is where she deserved to be. “She came out to enjoy a meal with her family, and she should be able to do that, I didn’t think she had to leave or go sit in the car to eat the food because her baby was fussy. They’re little kids, that’s just what they do.” Said by Nianni, which goes to show that a simple act of kindness can make a big difference!
An Act Of Kindness