There was a time where I would meet friends for coffee and we would just sit and talk. To each other. Like, a real adult conversation.
When Portia was a newborn (and up until she could crawl) those coffee dates were still a possibility, but when the kidlets discover that they can move, move they do. As they should! Though this now meant that crowded coffee shops with sticky non-fat, no-foam, half-hot, double-sweet, caramel latte on the floor were no longer an option. Gone were the days of coffee dates with friends. Phase “crawl, scoot, flap around on the belly” was a no-coffee-dates-phase. Sigh.
Then, we got to a new phase. The phase we are in right now and that I am loving the most (though my other mama friends and I have decided that we have said that about each and every phase along the way). The phase where the babes just want to play play play and run run run. The phase where mumbles, half-words, and actual words are spilling from their mouths all day long. The phase where Portia “woofs” at every single dog we see. The phase where there is a whole new level of understanding and communication. The phase where us parents get kisses and real hugs. This is the phase that trumps all others, though I hear it gets more and more blissful which seems hard to believe.
This is the phase where coffee dates are the most impossible! The thought of making my 19 month old sit calmly in a chair beside me or on my lap while I chit chat and catch up with a friend just seems wrong. Wrong for Portia, because she wants to move around and play. Wrong for me, because I can’t speak a full sentence without being distracted. Wrong for whoever my coffee date friend is, because I am truthfully not even listening to what is being said.
UNTIL….. I discovered that the Starbucks in Edgemont Village has a little play kitchen and nook for kids to hang out in! What an amazing idea! My coffee date friend and I can sit and drink our coffees, without our drinks being pawed at and us having to constantly dance them around the table to keep them from being touched or spilled. How ingenius! Why on earth are there so few child-friendly coffee shops on the North Shore? I know there are child-friendly cafes in other neighbourhoods, so why not more in ours? I’m going to make it my mission to seek out any others, as I love my coffee and I love my coffee dates and I love seeing my baby having fun while I get to indulge in some adult conversation.
Win. Win. Win!
Happy Coffee Dating!
North Shore Mama
Do you know of a great place on the North Shore to have a coffee date with accompanied by your kidlets? Please comment below, as I would love to know about it!
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OMG, I can so relate to this. I was lucky, my son wasn’t super mobile until he was 18 months, but since then he’s been making up for lost time. No more coffee dates. I wrote a post kind of in the same vein a couple weeks ago, funny enough. I want someone to open a kid-friendly restaurant or cafe near me. http://thesprog.blogspot.ca/2012/06/open-letter-to-my-dream-cafe.html
There is NOTHING around where we live! So sad! Business idea?
The Cafe for Contemporary Art on Esplanade just eat of Lonsdale is very kid-friendly. They have a pay area, kids table, and a baby change table in a large bathroom. Great coffee and food too- the tacos are amazing!!
Hi Deb! Thanks for stopping by and commenting! I recently heard about Cafe for Contemporary Art! I can’t wait to check it out. I hear their tacos are delicious!
*make that PLAY area, not pay area!