I’m fortunate enough to be godmother to 3 awesome kids. Or I guess I should say adults now that they’re in their 30’s. I swear, where does the time go? Seems it was only five years ago I was speeding down the freeway, like a maniac, to get there in time to witness Martin’s birth. (I made it.)

Fast forward to now and what a special young man Martin has become. I have to admit I had misgivings when he was a youngster and continually challenged his parents (emphasis on continually). But to their credit, they persevered, and today Martin is a thoughtful, loving, good-natured, and engaging young man. And, lest you forget, also my godson!

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, his mother and I spent the day in beautiful Healdsburg.

On our way back home, Sharon received a video from Martin’s adorable new bride, Jenny.

She and Martin were at a Denny’s restaurant. Why Denny’s, of all places? Thank you for asking. Well, Martin’s personality draws friends to him like ticks on a dog. I should know since I have three of them…dogs, that is. The guy is loaded with friends, many living in Texas where he attended the University of Dallas and played D3 baseball. Okay, enough gloating about Martin. (But I can’t promise that.) Now back to Denny’s…

Each year, Martin and his Texas buddies play fantasy football. They decide in advance what the loser needs to do. Luckily for Martin, going into the last game of the season, he had essentially no chance of losing. He was sitting pretty; let’s just say it was in the bag. And then he lost.

Turns out Martin had to visit a Waffle House and stay for 24 hours. With every waffle eaten, he deducted one hour. So, consuming 10 waffles meant he only stays for 14 hours. (I can’t believe I just said only.) Well, here’s the thing: there are no Waffle Houses in California. That’s why Martin chose Denny’s, as they are open 24 hours.

Now don’t get me wrong; Denny’s waffles are heftier than Waffle House waffles. Not only are they loaded with pearl sugar, but a waffle at Denny’s has 450 calories with 25 grams of fat vs. 410 calories and 18 grams of fat at Waffle House. And that’s for a SINGLE waffle! So Martin headed to the nearest Denny’s at 11:00 a.m. with an empty stomach.

On our way back from Healdsburg, Jenny texted Sharon a video of Martin stuffing down his sixth waffle of the morning. Apparently, the first six were pretty good, but then not so much. After that, he could only eat small bites every 30 minutes.

Jenny had to leave so Sharon and I stopped by to offer encouragement and distract him from his misery. An employee came by to ask Martin why he was eating so many waffles. My guess is right about then, Martin wondered himself.

That’s when we had a lightbulb moment: convince Martin to switch to Eggo waffles. Brilliant, huh? It wouldn’t be cheating because Denny’s waffles were thicker and heavier than what he’d be eating in Texas. It took some convincing, but since Martin was now on waffle #13, he reluctantly agreed. So Sharon and I headed to the grocery store.

When we returned with the Eggos, the same employee kindly toasted them. I suggested Martin dunk them in his glass of water, like those in hotdog eating competitions, and that seemed to help them go down easier.

As Sharon and I wished him luck and left, some of his friends walked in to encourage him as well. How sweet is that?

Turns out Martin ate 18 waffles and left Denny’s ( probably forever) at 7 p.m. — eight hours after he arrived, and 6360 calories fuller (I factored in the six Eggos at 160 calories each). I could barely hold back from calling Jenny to ask her to have a big plate of waffles on their dinner table when Martin walked through the door. But I’m a nice godmother, so I refrained.

You’re welcome, Martin!

Through the years (so far)…