“I want to work as many days as you can give me,” said one of our more experienced servers. “When I’m off, I don’t really do anything.”
Really.
“So, could you go to the dentist for me?” I asked, laughing.
“Sure!” he replied, laughing.
“Could you run a billion loads of laundry for me?” I asked, winking.
“No problem,” he said.
“Could you run a vacuum through my place, too?”
“Yep, sure can,” he replied.
“Could you go check in on my kids at their colleges? Write them checks for me?”
“Yeah, if you’re buying!”
We laughed together at that one.
“Could you call all the friends I used to have who wonder if I still exist?” I asked, kind of laughing.
“Uh, yeah,” he said, kind of laughing back. “Just give me the numbers.”
“Yeah, just let them know I think about them all the time, every day, okay?” I asked, sort of smiling.
“Yeah, sure,” he replied, and then he bent his head to the glassware he was polishing.
The joke had run its short course.
I am not complaining.
I am actually thriving in my job these days. I am actually happy at my job these days.
What a difference a few weeks makes.
But the days at work still number six per week. And the hours logged still mean little time for little else.
When I read my email tonight, after too many days, I realized my friends and their families had dealt with much since I’ve been out of touch. I felt bad I hadn’t been even a phone call away to help.
I know this will change, and I am okay with it all.
I just miss my kids, and I miss my friends more than I realized.
My teeth, however, are perfectly fine for another few months!
And the laundry can always wait.
Comments
3 responses to “When You’re Out of Touch”
I really need someone to plant my flowers for me, do you think you could lend him to me for a bit?
My hat is off to you. Don’t know how you guys in the food service industry do it. It HAS to be the most exhausting job on the planet, no matter WHAT level you work in/on. Middle daughter will graduate in December with a degree in Hotel/Restaurant Management. She was really sweating graduation, fearing that all her strife and struggle would have been for naught, and she’d end up waiting tables all her life.
Fortunately, she was recruited into the MIT program of a highly respected local (rapidly moving nationwide) deli chain over the summer. They treat their people like family, work tremendously hard, have a huge amount of fun, and she’s in seventh heaven since starting there in September. But her feet are killing her, her back aches every day, and the only night of the week she has to connect with her friends any more is Saturday.
So although only vicariously, I can certainly relate to this post.
You guys who truly love this industry are a breed apart. I am awed by you all.
Kevin–Best advice I ever received: buy shoes a half size bigger and put gell inserts in them. And if she has Satuday nights, she’s doing great!
As an aside, who gets to sample all those great looking cakes you make?
–The Gal