It's a love/hate thing.....

The relationship between France and McDonalds has always been an awkward one. The older generation hate it, the younger generation love it (but make fun of the Big- Mac-eating, obese kids in the States at the same time), the anti-globalization gang like to burn them down, and the average parent will probably only admit to the occasional Happy Meal transgression.

Growing up in the States, I remember fondly the late 70's/early 80's notion of going to McDonalds on a Saturday as a treat. I remember when chicken nuggets first appeared. I had a bizarre hobby of collecting large size fry cartons. We hung out in the parking lot of McDonalds every Friday night in high school, and I remember discovering the exquisite taste of a french fry dipped into a chocolate shake.

The Duke isn't a big fan, and after living outside of the States for 15 years, I've slowly found myself drifting away from thinking that a supersized meal is really a necessary part of my diet. (Besides, I myself would prefer Burger King, but here in the south of France, it's either Quick Burger (the French equivalent of McDonalds) or McDonalds.)

Now, like smoking, it's a thing which one doesn't mention one does in polite company. At least not more than once a month. Although the tell tale is always having a quick glance at the child's toy basket to see how many happy meal toys are there.....

Anyway, I think it's my children's heritage to be acquainted with McDonalds and think that to truly understand where their mom comes from, they too need to learn to dip their french fries into their chocolate shakes.

So imagine my delight when the 5 year old lady came home with a birthday invitation today which read, "Je t'invite à fêter mon 'wouaaanniversaire' chez McDonald's!'.

See, at the end of the day, this parenting thing really isn't so different between France and the States.......