I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

I was very tired, because it was very late when I wrote last night’s post. I’m not sure what I was trying to say.

It’s Sunday night.

Tomorrow night is my first Monday shift of the summer.

I’ve found that if I stop counting hours and stop counting days and stop counting weeks it doesn’t seem such a daunting task to work 18 six hour weeks.

That being said, it’s going to be a long summer.

Tonight was a great shift.

I was able to take a breath. Breathe deep. And remember why I do what I do, and why sometimes I think I’m good at it.

This morning on the way to work, Adam reminded me that no one comes to work to do a bad job. They are just kids. Doing the best they can.

Tonight a bartender pointed out to me that I’d been using the term strive for perfection, when we really want to strive for professionalism. When you strive for perfection you are setting yourself up for failure.

I also know, from years of therapy, and emulating the opposite of what I grew up with, that a lot of what you go through during the day, the week, the month, the year is a choice.

YOU get to choose how you respond. You get to choose how you interpret the situation. You get to decided your mood. You get to decide.

Today, when I got up. After 6.5 hours of sleep.

I chose to not be tired.

I chose to be in a good mood.

I chose to be happy.

I chose to stop being frustrated with my team.

I chose to have fun.

And I heard Adam’s voice in my head as I started the dinner shift.

Pre-shift was laid back.

I still got the messages across that I needed to get across.

And at 4:30 we were off to the races.

We started opening at 4:30 this week. I wasn’t sure it was a good idea, but the last three days we’ve sat about 30 people each day by 5:00. Today we sat 10 walk-ins before 4:45.

I spent my night coaching and counseling. To quote my friend Laura.

Instead of being frustrated. I challenged myself to fix the frustrations.

So I met with the host team and gave them notes, direction, answered questions, updated them on new policies.

And the night went well.

I did the same with the food runners.

I had fun.

I also managed the floor for the first time in a bit, and worried less about the door.

It allowed me to see service, and chat with guests.

It was truly a different shift.

I also left early.

When I left at 8:00 to go to the new restaurant to close up, I did not go back to work.

By 8:40 I was on my way to Portland.

On the drive home, I was able to speak with my good friend Laura. We used to chat 4 times a week. But she works days nows, and I work nights. Our days don’t mesh. It’s been almost a month since we’ve spoken.

We talked for 90 minutes tonight.

Finally someone to vent to.

She offered a lot of advice. And support. And love.

She reminded me that opening a new restaurant is like giving birth. It hurts like hell, but eventually there is a payoff.

She reminded me that sometimes I’m too hard on myself.

She also reminded me that I can do this. I have the talent. And just to keep breathing. Keep at it. Cross things off your list and just keep moving forward.

She reminded me that I like teaching. I like training. And to turn to that passion when things get frustrating, and challenging.

Most of all she reminded me that I am human. The cracks are going to show sometime. You are going to disappoint people sometime. You are going to get frustrated. You are going to lose your cool. You are going to make a wrong decision. You are going to make mistakes. You are going to drop the balls you have in the air.

All of those things are okey.

Keep your chin up. Take care of yourself. Breathe.

You’ll get through it.

You have before.

You will again.