His Moment in the Spotlight

Tonight was the big night: Mazy's interview and dinner with The Des Moines Register food writer Jennifer Miller.

It was a blast.

I was both excited and apprehensive about the evening. Mazy was not in the best mood after summer camp. He was dragging his feet and didn't want to change his clothes. He didn't want to stop playing on his Kindle. When I finally managed to get him into a polo shirt and his new plaid shorts, he immediately picked up Violet and she wiped her snotty nose all over his collar. I noticed it moments before we left so I scrubbed it out. I even talked him into letting me comb his hair and put a little hair spray in it to help cover the fact that he needs a haircut.

So we arrived at the restaurant about 5 minutes early. He picked a newer restaurant that we've never been to, HoQ. We thought it stood for something, but turns out it's pronounced "Hawk" after the owners' last name.

I'll let Mazy fill you in on the restaurant in his review, but I will say it was a great evening of conversation, all 2.5 hours of it. :)

Sorry for the bad photos. The lighting was not good in the restaurant, plus I was facing a window. But you get the idea!

Highlights:

• The photo shoot of Mazy by Register veteran photographer Bill Niebergall. It was hilarious. He had Mazy posing with his amouse bouche (a spoon with a tiny, tiny little carrot) for at least 10 minutes. It's the longest I've seen Mazy go without eating when food was that close to his mouth. 
• The heart-stopping moment when Mazy said, "I have a funny story for you guys. The first of many!" I was so nervous about what he was about to say, but it turned out to be an actual funny story that he told very well and made fun of himself in the end. He is so grown up... 
• While eating dessert, Mazy paused between bites and commented on how good the homemade vanilla ice cream was. I tried it and said, "Hmm, there's a flavor in there I can't place." Mazy tried it and said, "Oh I know! It tastes like... what is that? Oh yeah, eggnog!" And he was right. It was nutmeg I was detecting. The reporter was quite impressed by his ability to name that spice. 
• The chef of the restaurant was friends with the reporter and he came out to meet Mazy. They talked about the farm-to-food theme of his restaurant. Mazy told him why he chose the restaurant and why foods grown on local farms are better than those you buy at the story. Then they talked about all the vegetables they like and Mazy made a lifelong friend when he declared, "More kids should eat spinach! The real spinach, not the stuff in a can. Spinach is really good."
• At the end of the interview, Mazy turned to me and said, "There Mom, I didn't embarrass you by saying any bad stories about my brother or sister or you or dad!"

Overall, I was very proud of my son. He was so comfortable being himself. He was at ease talking to adults, answering their questions and sharing his opinion. He was charming, witty, overly confident like only 8-year-olds can be, and completely in his element. 

One of the last things the reporter said to me was, "This kid's going places." And I couldn't agree more. 

Her article and video will be published in the Register on July 17. She also writes weekly food stories every Wednesday, so be sure to check out her articles.