McChildhood happiness!

“I’m hungry!”

     This is the line I would always tell my dad whenever I got home from school during my prep days (6 years old). And, because I’m such a spoiled little girl, my dad, despite being handicapped, would drive me to the McDonald’s located in Quezon Avenue, Quezon City. I would sit at the back of the car, while my dad drove as fast as he could to what I call ‘McDo’.

     In the Philippines, McDonald’s would always be a top choice when choosing a fast food chain to eat at. If wasn’t in McDonald’s, it was Jollibee. But, even though I am full-blooded Filipino, I would always choose McDonald’s over Jollibee, simply because it served some great tasting fried chicken, that truly makes you want to crave for more. The chicken, by the way, was always the meal that my dad would buy for me. We would only go through the Drive Thru service since I wasn’t so strong yet to carry my dad’s walker if ever we would have to go down from the car.

     But, out of all the times my dad and I drove thru McDonald’s, my favourite times would be when he bought me the Happy Meal. The happy meal definitely made me really happy, because not only were the toys so cute, but the box of the meal made the experience a very meaningful one! It was very different if you had to open the Happy Meal’s box to get to have a hold of your ‘Burger McDo’ and your toy, and to go through the challenge of flipping out the cardboard from the side of the box to open it. I just miss that experience, and I kind of feel sad for the kids nowadays because they don’t get to experience the same thing, but only receive their meal and toy in a regular McDonald’s plastic.

     Another McDonald’s element that really sparked up my childhood was the bench with Ronald McDonald sitting on it too! It was so funny, ‘cause when I was around 7 years old, I would always sit in Ronald McDonald’s lap and hug him as if he was a real person. And my mom would always tell me to get off of the statue because we had to leave already. I really miss those times when every McDonald’s branch I would go to would have that bench. Today, I’ve hardly seen one. 

     Even though McDonald’s would be bashed because the food that they serve contains tons of calories and all those other negative effects to our health, I would say that it will still be the most significant milestone during my childhood days. Not just because of the toys I got from the Happy Meals, or the chicken I get to eat almost every day after class [during my kinder days], but it would be because McDonald’s is how I remember my dad today, and how he tried his best to spend time with me. McDonald’s reassures me that I experienced childhood, and that I was the baby girl of my dad, who is now with our Creator since 2002.

     That’s why if I got the chance to talk to every parent in the world, I would tell  them to treat their kids once in a while in McDonald’s, cause that just be the start of a great, heart-warming memory their kids would bring with them even as they grow old and up!

Now rollin' out,
Dom Manahan :)

Sources of images:

www.google.com, retrieved August 7, 2011.