My mind is a whirlwind so might as well dive in somewhere. This week was a crazy time at work, the first full five day week since December and we took it in stride and really shone. So many people to feed, lots of changes going on with staff and numerous catering events that demanded the extra mile. We hosted an amazing dinner for the Top 100 Executives of 2017 and it was a resounding success. A vast array of amazing ingredients to work with and details, details, details. My hands were almost cramping up from such precision knife work and tweezing micro-green garnish placement, but each plate went to service looking impeccable and the clients were stunned and elated at what the Kitchen turned out for their special celebration. I am learning so much and I love it!
Body is a bit sore, as I took the time to pitch in and unload the truck and stock walk-ins, freezers, dry storage and paper goods yesterday. Had been a while since I slung 55 pound bags and full cases of cans, but it feels good today, the comfortable kind of ache and tension of a job well done and hard work accomplished. Going to take some extra stretching before a hot, hot shower to work out the kinks, but I can manage that. I have plenty of time and this WHOLE day is mine with nothing else planned except to have a "daemon day". :)
The Eleventh was my birthday and I had a great day, even with work and so many things on my plate with family and friends at the moment. Still feeling a bit under the weather and been working sick the last week or so but that just keeps me motivated to stick with my rest and meds when I can. I am going to beat this flu bug, even if it tries to kill me. I still haven't managed to get my voice back and today I wound like I am breathing helium, but the lull in chatter and constant comments has made me consider my words more, think before I speak and generally contributed to a time of reflection that normally gets loss in the bustle of live streaming my inner monologue. I am sure that friends and family have enjoyed the respite that a quiet me has brought. I do miss singing though, but humming will have to do until the words and sound come back.
Two days prior to mine, was my Mom's birthday and I had so much fun surprising her. I got up at about 3 am and drove to the florist where Cody, a friend, had put together two dozen white and red roses as well as picked up a Pecan Pie (her favorite) from a local bakery the night before. His curls were a bit tussled from sleep and wasn't awake yet when I rolled in, but his efforts and collaboration with me certainly made her day shine bright. I would have loved to have seen her face when she got up to get some water or go to the bathroom and discovered the flowers and pie on the dining room table at 4 am. Someone has been sneaking around and what is this? I love you, Mom. There is nothing I could do that could match the care, concern, effort and time you have poured into me and our family over these many, many years. I will give you everything I can, just to make you smile. You are the light, life and glue that illuminates, narrates and binds our family together with love. Happy Birthday, Mom! (from your little brown-eyed boy)
Yesterday was an interesting adventure with my Dad after work. I ran by their house and found him outside in the freezing weather doing yard work, picking up those stupid gum balls that fall from the tree in front. That man never stops working or doing something, even in this weather! He decided that he wanted to pull my Mom's car out to get it all warmed up and in doing so managed to get the driver's door stuck open. The latching mechanism that grasps the door pillar was wedged in the locked position and nothing we did could seem to fix it. He became frustrated and I could tell that brute strength was about to be brought to bear and I got pretty upset internally. All of this could have been avoided if he would have left well enough alone and I found myself on my knees in the driveway, aiming a heat gun at frozen car parts trying to in vain to fix the lock. I finally told (yelled at) him to get inside and warm up and that I would handle it. NO, we're not going to drive it to David's with the door hanging open with a bungee cord! Mom is out getting a pedicure and manicure and this is going to be fixed before she gets home! (She drove the sedan due to the weather and not wanted to get salt and grim all over her pristine sports car that she normally zooms around in.)
I was sick, cold, frustrated and really just wanted to go to bed. I finally took a deep breath, calmed down, took the door panel apart, disassembled the locking and latch mechanism, put it all back together after cleaning and lubricating it and VOILA! It worked flawlessly. Whew! That was a relief. I didn't know what I would tell her if she came home and her car was out, door wouldn't shut and Dad all upset and confused. In that moment, I was struck that the skills and thinking that enabled me to solve the problem at hand were due to the time and effort my Dad had invested in me, teaching me how to build and work on cars. He saved the day years and years ago and the results we got were a direct result of past actions he had taken, without even knowing what the future might hold for us both.
With that in mind, I went inside, got warmed up and asked him what he wanted to do now, since Mom was out for a while. I really wanted to go home, take some medicine and crash for 12 hours, but I felt bad for blowing up and knew he needed some time and input. I can make time for this. This is what is important. He did this for me countless times.
Dad was thrilled and we took it home that day, after posing for a lot of pictures and letting Ben's wife and kids say goodbye to it. It was their "engagement truck" as his wife had bought it for him in lieu of a ring when they first decided to get married and always been around in the kid's lives. They were so cute. There might have been a few tears shed when we left their long driveway in the country, but man! Can this truck run! :)
And then it sat in the garage and Dad never drove it. He just wanted it.
So when he broached the idea of a drive, I said 'of course' and we got in and went for a ride! I have to admit I was a little bit nervous, as he has a lead foot, but we tooled around city and familiar streets and just talked and laughed and shared stories of times gone by. What a ride! It was just like old times and he came alive and I saw the man I used to know, even for a while. It was the right decision. :)
After we got back to their house, he decided instead of me cooking, he wanted to go out and get a steak, so we bundled up into my little car and head west and ate some seriously good food. What a great unplanned evening that I would have missed if I had let sickness and fatigue get the better of me. The spaces we make for those we love are often inhabited by the mundane and normal, the usual grind of life and duty, but sometimes, when you are the least prepared, even in the wrong state of mind and body, these gleaming treasures and shining moments appear to be enjoyed thoroughly in the moment, present to the love and you grab onto them with both hands and just live.
Find those moments in your life. Live them. Love one another.
daemon
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