Heartwarming

Saturday was an off day for me. I felt groggy most of the day and more than a little overwhelmed by damn near everything. I dunno, just wasn't feeling it that day - which isn't like me. In the eleventh hour, and at the 59th minute thereof, I bailed on lunch with two old friends. Also not at all like me - particularly since the two guys I was supposed to have lunch with are part of a group that is always a ton of laughs - always. 

I skipped the gym, had lunch and got ready - still not feeling it. As I drove into work, I gave serious thought to telling my manager that I really wasn't feeling all that well and if there was any way one of my coworkers could cover me back there, I'd take the night off. None of this is like me. The thing about my job(s) is that the second I walk in the door, even my best mood always gets elevated to an even better one. Sometimes I don't even realize that, but it always happens.

I still wasn't feeling it. As I put my jacket in the liquor room, my manager comes in to get something and gives me a pleasant hello, asks how I'm doing. I tell him I'm feeling a little off today - not really sure why. He pleasantly replies that this is unacceptable - and I know he's right. I notice my mood start to shift when I see my coworker, who happens to be a guy I love working with. I notice two regular customers that are always there on Saturdays - and I notice they don't have their usual libations in front of them, but rather they've got glasses of white wine in front of them. Without even thinking about it, as I say hello, I remove my glasses and gesture that they must need cleaned - because it looks like they have the wrong drinks in front of them. I jokingly ask them if I'm seeing things:

Regulars: We wanted to wait until you got here - you make great Manhanttans - perfectly the way we like them.

In an instant, I notice practically every bit of fogginess/grogginess and whatever else was wrong with my mood/mindset that day, vanish and be overcome by feeling great. A few more passing jokes with my coworker, the regulars and two more people who sit at the bar and I'm overcome by the fact that I feel better now that I'm at work, and I can't flippin' believe that I gave serious thought to wanting to stay home.

It's important to note a couple of things here: a) I work in a sales-driven environment, and for tips no less...but crazy as it sounds, I go to great lengths not to think about those things - because it's people that make this gig as much fun as it is. There are any number of things that I should be doing while I'm at work, and if I just focus on doing my best at those things, the money takes care of itself. b) Holy God do I ever get to have fun while I'm at work.

I'm not gonna lie - I've been doing this for longer than I ever thought I would. I'm reasonably good at it, and yet for all the years I've been doing it, I don't feel like I know it all and I don't feel like I'm better at it than anyone else simply because of the fact that I've been doing it longer. My best can come automatically - but it doesn't always, and when it doesn't, I feel that it's my responsibility to chase it down and make it happen. My job doesn't owe me simply because I show up. I have to be there for my job just as I need it to be there for me. If I'm there, then I need to want to be - and I'm constantly amazed that I do.

What amazes me after all this time, is that it gets so much easier to find good things to focus on. Two things I try not to focus on when I'm at work: money and when I get to leave. Dwelling on either of those things, even minimally, bugs me. Of course I'm there to make money. I appreciate good tips just as much as the next person - but if I'm focusing on that and seeing dollar signs instead of people and how they might better enjoy their experience of dining out, then I'm doing it wrong. Lately even on the quieter nights, I can always look back and think of the laughs that fly around at my job(s) - always. Do I want a series of quiet nights that don't add up to much in the way of sales and ultimately money in my pocket? Of course not, but I can't allow myself to hold a grudge on a less than stellar night. If it really sucked, and mind you it almost never does, then it's over and I can move on. 

While this Saturday night was a bit quieter than I'd like, it was high on the enjoyment factor and it felt really good to be at work. I didn't feel so good when I realized that I left my glasses in the building at the end of the night - but then I thought that was no big whoop. I'd drive up and get them and have brunch. Did just that too. On either of the two ways I can drive into this job, both are spectacular in the Fall. Yesterday was a perfect Fall day to take a drive, listen to good music (which in this case, meant The Damnwells) with the sunroof open.

I get there and I'm overwhelmed by how good it feels to see a coworker that I have a running joke with about working with him once every four months. Then I see my boss, who smiles and nods my way. It feels like it's been all of twenty minutes since I was working with him. As I'm getting some coffee in me and thinking about my food, I realize it's one hell of a great day. As I'm finishing up my meal, I notice an elderly gentleman making his way to a table - very slowly. A few minutes later, after the guy has ordered a Bloody Mary, I notice him telling his server that he's actually going to have to leave as he's forgotten his wallet. Not five minutes later, I see my coworker walk up to the guy and tell him to sit still, he's going to have lunch on the house today. I can barely explain just how heartwarming it was to see my coworker deliver that statement to this old guy, and how good it makes me feel about the people I work for, and with.

A few minutes later and my coworker is back behind the bar with my boss joking that will be my coworker in 15 years. I look down at my boss and say, "That'll be me in twenty minutes - I don't have my wallet!" What hit me like a ton of bricks, is that moments like these happen a lot in my line of work. Not only that, but it's moments like these that make me feel better all the time about my line of work. I dated a woman once who said the following about my line of work:

"You have a meaningless job, Chris."

Really? My job is made up of moments like the one I just mentioned. A series of heartwarming moments that mean everything to me, and that I'm grateful to both witness and play even a small part in. On my worst days - and this is not even close to being one of those. For me, that makes my job anything but meaningless. I can't really take credit for the initial awareness of that fact - it was my friend Dianne who pointed this out to me, and with several examples that I've not exactly forgotten. Now it's been a few years since she showed me the light - and I look for it all the time, y'know, like it's my job - because it is. Peace!