As children often do, Katy always peppered me with any question that popped into her mind and, most times, it was the standard, 'why is the sky blue?' type question.

One particular evening though, Katy asked a question that, not only brought a good laugh, but that will remain in my memory forever.

At the time, Katy was seven years old; She and I had gone to a local sit-down restaurant for dinner. It wasn't a weekend, so the place was neither crowded nor busy. 

The hostess had seated us, given us menus and Katy a coloring page with crayons, and filled our drink order within a short time.

For whatever reason, it took no less than fifteen minutes for our waiter to take our order, though he stopped just after we were seated to introduce himself and to let us know he'd be right back.

Katy had learned long before this to behave properly while in public and was, for the most part, very patient. 

However, as she said to me, after giving me a pointed look, 'Mommy, IT IS dinnertime, and I AM hungry!' when I told her to be calm as our waiting time grew longer. Her frustration intensified as she watched our waiter pass our table numerous times without stopping.

Finally, she'd had enough after his sixth or seventh pass and in an exasperated tone asked me, 'Mommie, why are THEY called waiters when WE are the ones waiting?'

I almost spit out the drink I'd just taken, as laughter erupted from me. Of course, my laughter did not please Katy at all, nor did my inability to answer her simple question.

Katy continued pondering the question until the waiter finally arrived to take our order. She floored him by asking him in a sweet, albeit mischievously loud voice, 'Sir, why are YOU called a waiter when WE are the ones waiting?' 

It was then we heard muffled laughter from the adjacent tables. They'd all overheard this young child politely asking a question that, maybe, a few of them wondered at some point, but never voiced aloud.

As the poor guy stumbled for words, he looked from me to Katy and back at me. I flashed a small smile as I shrugged my shoulders and shook my head to let him know, 'Buddy, you're on your own with this one.' while mouthing, "Good Luck."

As expected, the server could not answer her question, and after taking our order, he hurried away. For the rest of our meal, he was very attentive and even gave Katy a few extra mints, before placing the check on the table.

This incident still makes me laugh when I think of how, in her innocence, Katy brought laughter to some people and gave a busy, young waiter something to think about and hopefully laugh about, if only for a short time.

And for those who may be wondering, Yes, I gave the waiter a sizable tip.