2chicksandapen

Mother’s Day Moments

May 18, 2020 2chicksandapen

Mother’s Day during the pandemic. I wasn’t really sure what to expect. Honestly, many Mother’s Days in our home pass without too much fanfare. My own Mom is no longer alive and some years are harder than others. It’s also one of the busiest days of the year at our family’s restaurant, and often that is the focus. More years than not I spend working at the restaurant just to help be sure people are happy. (This doesn’t really bother me. I always say those are the kind of days that pay my kids’ college tuition. This year it’s more like my mortgage, but you get the idea.) I worked this year as well.

It may not surprise you that the gifts I often enjoy most are cards. Taking time to write someone a meaningful note is a rare treasure. I’ve gotten several amazing cards and letters from my kids in the past years. When my youngest asked me what I wanted for Mother’s Day, I said “fifteen pound dumbbells” with a belly laugh. Stores have been out of fitness equipment for months since many have set up home gyms during corona. But then I just told her my real answer: a card. Honestly, I don’t expect anything, especially right now.

So the night before Mother’s Day, when my son asked me if I would be around in the morning, I had no idea what to expect. There would be a delivery, he said. I was touched by the very thought that he would have something delivered. I figured maybe it would be flowers, since I do have a great love for unique blooms. I was floored when a bag was dropped on my doorstep and I pulled out this amazing super sparkly tumbler he had made just for me. Yes, it’s awesome and I love the Georgia Bulldogs. But even more amazing is the fact that only about 5 days earlier I had complained about needing a bigger insulated cup to increase my water consumption. My workplace closure has brought my water intake way down since I don’t have my infused water any longer. So not only is it a personal design, it showed that he heard me and responded. What a heartwarming gift!

My middle daughter made our whole family dinner on the Monday after Mother’s Day. She made tacos, which are my food love language. Fresh guacamole, all the fixin, and she is a healthy eater herself so it was all more or less in my eating goals. Even protein baked goods for dessert! She also gave me some lovely hydrangeas, some of my favorite flowers, and a candle in my second favorite scent. (That’s a story for another post). Finally, a card with all kinds of beautiful words. It was a beautiful, thoughtful evening.

Lastly, in an unexpected turn, my youngest walks in the house with a pair of…you guessed it…15 pound dumbbells. I was in shock. She went to two stores…the first had nothing. The second had all of 3 dumbbells and unbelievably they were fifteen pounders. Ah-May-Zing. !!!! I’ve already used them several times. Yay for less frustration in workouts.

Of course I saved all the cute little handprint and rhyme Mother’s Day gifts from their elementary school days. They are precious! But to be heard, seen, and known as an individual with interests, goals, and preferences by my kids is a different sort of celebration, and in some ways all that much sweeter.

inspire, perspective

Excitement

May 17, 2020 2chicksandapen

Who doesn’t like a little excitement in their life? Who doesn’t get excited on a regular basis?

A big vacation starts tomorrow. The feeling of excitement hits you and sleep is no longer an option. The first day of school is upon you. Many emotions pass through your mind but one is definitely excitement to see what the day will hold. A birth of a new family member. Nerves are a-blazing but excitement is in the air. The examples are limitless in my mind.

Excitement is around us. It’s a word but also a feeling. Some show it visibly differently than others and that is okay. For me excitement is easily visible and can even be contagious.

My eyes light up. My curiosity is sparked. My brain fires on all cylinders. I engage others around me. Excitement is a stimulant to me in a way that many may not understand.

I feel excitement in my core and it radiates around me. I can wake up excited for the day where others are slow off the block or need coffee for arousal. This is what I mean when I say I feel excitement in my core. No dusting off needed to arouse my excitement, it sits at the core of my existence.

Some days it’s shaken and stirred. Other days the excitement becomes an inferno. It’s somewhere in between the reckless inferno and shaken when my mind works the best.

I am excited today and thus I decided to write. I often write in the morning when my senses are awakened with excitement. Content flows. Ideas go into the journal. Plans are made. Action is taken. Most of which happens before one gets up and has their morning coffee.

I am fond of the word excitement. It’s part of my aura. It’s part of my story. For now I will take my excitement off this page and into the world as it awaits. And there are some folks out there in the world that don’t appreciate my excitement. I have to assume it’s because their life is boring but I waste no time on that negativity. I just do me. Exciting me whenever possible.

I hope the word excitement has sparked some thought for you today. The post was meant to send you in that direction of excitement.

perspective

The Elevator

May 15, 2020 2chicksandapen

You will find this gem of an elevator in a building in downtown Atlanta, GA. It serves a purpose of hauling freight, equipment, people and so on up and down throughout a day. Sounds simple and practical, right?

Of course it’s simple and practical but I wonder how sanitary it is in the corona age we live. Do these surfaces get the wipe down we see at the front door? I am probably sure I know the answer to this. Is there any smell lingering? Is it vile piss or fragrant flowers? Are there any foreign bodies stuck to the walls?

The long forgotten access door. Is it the gate to hell? It’s designed to be a work horse. It gets the job done but it’s ugly and borderline creepy. The mystery behind the door and all the folks that crossed its path has struck my curiosity and thus you are reading this post.

Tucked away from the main stream of day-to-day hustlers. Abundant scratches, gouges and scuff marks showing its wear and age. The abuse this elevator sees in a day. The laborers that visit it during the day. The dirty jobs that pass through behind the scenes like trash disposal for example.

If this door could talk what would it say? What would be on the surface of the buttons if somebody tested it today? Is it a safe area to pass by? So many questions about the door to the elevator. The spooky door.

I stare blankly at the dirty door of mystery and a million questions run through my mind. Would there be blood from somebody jamming their finger lingering? Would there be snot from a recent sneeze or cough? How many dirty doors like this are in back alleys, basement buildings and so on?

just a random post for a random day.

perspective

Stripping the Fun Stuff Away

May 14, 2020 2chicksandapen

The return to “normal” has begun. Gyms, restaurants, hair salons, sports leagues, bowling alleys, summer camps and a host of other businesses have gotten the green light to open their doors. Yay! (right?)

Of course, nothing is really normal and the “new normal” has already lost it’s luster (if it ever had any). Opening business doors often comes along with an eye-popping list of new restrictions.

Both the chicks have recently given their views on restaurant dining.

Like restaurants, for many businesses, industries, and institutions, it’s still a strange time. We are all figuring it out on the fly, customers included. I’ve noticed that in some cases, we are stuck trying to do the hard parts but the fun parts are what we miss now. Here are a few examples:

Gyms are starting to reopen. But, I never really stopped working out. I’m still exercising in my basement or on the pavement most mornings due to financial and work constraints. Some lifting, some cardio, some basic bodyweight movement, Heroes on Mondays. I get my exercise in one way or another.

Is it the same? Yes and no. Yes, I get my movement in. But some of the most enjoyable parts of the gym experience are gone. I don’t see friends and like-minded people. I don’t get coaching. I don’t get to use all the great equipment. I don’t get the occasional coffee and breakfast after with friends. Sure, I don’t miss certain things about the gym, but some of the parts that made it fun and special (and the hard parts less hard) can’t be replicated in my home.

My work is a similar situation. I am a librarian that teaches in an elementary school. We left school for a long weekend in mid-March, not knowing that students and most teachers wouldn’t return this year. Instead, we’ve been teaching and learning online for almost 9 weeks.

Are we getting the job done? Yes and no. Yes, there are lessons and many teachers working extremely hard to connect with students and families. Yes, there is learning happening. But, some of the parts that make school fun and meaningful are stripped away. Field day. End-of-year culminations of work and celebrations. Social time at lunch and recess on the playground. Working shoulder-to-shoulder to finish a puzzle or create something together. For me, it’s just walking through the library with a student and helping them find a great book.

Or reading a funny or suspenseful picture book to a live Kindergarten audience, laughing and responding together in that moment. Nothing replaces those. And those are some of the things that make school worth going to for many kids (not to mention food, etc.) Instead, online school often seems like a lot more of the work and a lot less of the fun stuff that makes school special. (And yes, this is about the teachers, too. I miss the energy of my students! Computer screens, while helpful, don’t cut it for connection!)

On the flip side, there are also students and families who aren’t built for distance learning. Some have limited or no access to technology. Some need the structure and surroundings and encouragement of others working. Some need the social benefits. Some need the food and care that come along with being at school. Some parents are working from home while also trying to manage multiple children learning online. It is all extremely stressful. School isn’t working for many, and it is definitely not the same even for those getting by.

Then, there are the fun things that are just not happening anymore at all. Most notably for me are travel plans for myself and my family, and races I was training for. Pleasure travel by anything other than car seems risky (and if you take a road trip, where do you stay overnight?)

I was sad that the triathlon I was training for got canceled. They can’t guarantee safety and I am sure liability is also a big part of that decision. Would I have wanted to participate in some sort of sanitized race? I had mixed feelings about the virtual 10K I ran recently. Although it wasn’t terrible since I was able to do it with friends, I missed the trip to Nashville, the mass of runners, all the spectators and the thrill of race day. It just wasn’t the same. I may still do a virtual version of the triathlon at some point since I am already training. But, some things just can’t be replaced. You can’t take away some of the most fun and challenging parts and expect a similar experience. Again, some of the most fun stuff of life is stripped away. And it is hard not to be bogged down in the frustration and sadness of it all.

You can’t recreate the Mona Lisa with a Magic Marker. It just isn’t the same. And will it ever be the same? What do I expect? I don’t know. I know many people are trying their best. I know many people disagree about how all of this is being carried out. Frankly, between dealing with that personal and political drama and the abundance of the day-to-day changes, I am exhausted at times. The fun stuff buoys me along and there is so much less of that. Nonetheless, I want to try to find the celebration in the irritation. Today, I realized I would have never bought my road bike if I hadn’t set the triathlon as a goal. My bike has been a huge part of my sanity through the stay-at-home orders. So there is a bit of sunshine.

It’s hard not to wonder when things will get back to some kind of regularity. What will things look like on the other end? When can we plan a race, some pleasure travel? When will I be able to read to kids again? When is the finish line of this mess? I can budget my energy if I have a finish line in sight. But now we are in the long middle miles when it’s hard to stay energized and forward moving.

I think it’s ok to pout as long as you don’t wallow in it. Acknowledge the loss then move on. It might be easier if we knew the story had a happy ending. I can deal with suspense as long as it gets resolved. I have to believe that day will come. Maybe not quite happily ever after, and maybe this is a heck of a long chapter, but it will be resolved.

business, Uncategorized

Dining In Dining Out

May 12, 2020May 13, 2020 2chicksandapen

I sat down to write this post and came into a few roadblocks. Nothing major just my perception or perspective. I decided this was important to write about.

In a recent post Chick 2 referenced her vantage point in the restaurant industry as a family-owned business. My post today will be as a patron.

I dined out a few times at local establishments during the pandemic shutdown. My hopes were to make an impact and to break up the mundane on the home front. It worked for the most part.

I bought pastries from a local bakery. I bought curbside pickup at a chain and tipped big. I took to go orders at the small mom-and-pops. I even hit a franchise or two.

Now that things are starting to open up I decided to dine out. Well my first choice was closed. A bigger chain but one of my favs. I looked for another local fav spot that a friend managed and that too was closed for dine in. Then I thought well I’ll just grab something elsewhere with disappointment.

When all was crumbling around me with lack of options I saw a Mexican place open that I had never been to. I decided to give it a shot. I was pleasantly surprised.

As I entered the facility I saw floor markings noting 6 feet apart. I saw a plastic protector by the hostess stand. I saw a make shift to-go pickup area with tables in use that were normally for dining. It seemed odd.

I took my seat. I observed. Every other booth was taped off for my protection. Tables were spread apart in the floor area. The servers were masked like healthcare workers. Does that kill your vibe to eat food? I was just rolling with the experience.

I couldn’t stop watching the to-go area. It had a table lined with to-go margaritas. Filled in 1/2 gallon milk jug type containers. They were labeled and sealed but never would I have seen this pre-corona. They sold like hot cakes with the to-go order. Interesting concept to generate revenue and make do with the new normal.

It was hard to understand the waiter. Was he annoyed or smiling? So many thoughts crossed my mind. The food arrived. It was delicious. My worries went away with the comfort and presentation of the meal.

Fresh cut slivers of avocado were the highlight of my meal. Fresh chips and salsa. The sounds of conversations and other humans around me. It was a new normal and a bit weird but it was a good first step. These are the vibes you can’t replace at home. And no clean up!

Mother’s Day came and went. A holiday normally spent at a restaurant but not this year. Nobody in my family wanted to dine out. A barbecue at home it was for this family. A picnic for another group I knew. A day on the lake for others. A work day for others whose family runs a restaurant.

I wondered about the financial effects of not only corona but on the restaurant industry itself on such a day like Mother’s Day. Some of these establishments need those holiday highs to maintain the lulls of other parts of the year.

I will continue to eat out when I can. If my budget allows. If my community stays open. If opportunity presents itself. So many ifs in the world today.

Are you dining in or out today?