Behind the Scenes of a Restaurant

Ever since I was a sophomore in high school, I have worked at our local steakouse: Texas Roadhouse.  I started as a hostess and then moved up to server.  Now, when I come home from college over Christmas or in the summer, I always get put back on the schedule.  I love my job though.  Yes, you get some grumpy tables who leave horrible tips, but you also get great tables who actually leave twenty percent or more.  The job never ceases to surprise you or keep you entertained and, to be honest, I would way rather be payed daily then take home a check every two weeks.

Last night I had an experience that I will honestly remember for the rest of my life and I get really emotional just thinking about it.  I have been back for about a week now and last night was my first Saturday night shift ( these typically run seven hours and are extremely busy).  Early on in the evening I greeted a table that consisted of two men and two women in their mid fifties.  It looked like they could have all been related, brothers with their wives possibly.  The different part about this table though, was that one of the men was deaf.  Without any knowledge of sign language, I struggled trying to take his order and just stood trying to speak slowly and watch what he was trying to make out.  I don't believe his disability had been life long because no one at the table seemed to know sign language and so we all worked together to figure out what he was trying to say.  This repeated for about an hour an a half as I brought drinks, salads, and the food while trying to make sure everything was as desired.

The other man at the table kept continually saying, "Thank you so much for being patient," and I could'nt help but think, "Of course."  I kept wondering if this family had had a prior negative experience where they had felt rushed or overlooked by their server.  I wanted to make them feel as comfortable as possible.

As I said goodbye and handed them their payed out check, they smiled and asked to see my manager.  If you are a server, you know that this always makes you uneasy regardless of how nice the table was.  As I stood by, I watched as they told my manger how great it was having me as a server.  ( I am not saying this to brag on myself, but rather to complete the story)  Feeling a little awkward that they had just complimented me, I did not want to walk by past the table again, so I waited till they got up to leave before heading back over.  As the exited the restaurant, they all stopped and waved saying "Thank you so much!" as if I had done them a great service that I was unaware of.  The deaf man, who was last to leave, then came up to me and gave me a huge hug.  I was overwhelmed and almost began to cry as this man hugged me while trying to get these few words out, he murmured, "It was so nice to meet you! Thank you!" As he pulled away, he pointed to himself and said, "I'm from California!" I just began to laugh as I said, "Me too! Have a great night sir!"

This story may sound simple or small, but it really made my night and week as a whole.  I did nothing for this table except act human and remain patient and kind, and they felt like they were being treated like royalty.

As a final note, Anthony, my fiance, really has a heart for the deaf community.  He knows sign language and used to spend a lot of time with deaf children, just playing with them at their school.  We have discussed before the possibility of adopting a child with this disability.  I don't know what the future holds, all I know is that this man really impacted my week by showing his love and compassion through his eyes and attempts to communicate.  I felt I communicated with him more so than any person I have ever served before.

Servers don't always spit in your food or act fake to your table.  Sometimes people really impact us and touch our hearts.

bridesmaids' packages.

One thing that I love about planning a wedding is how creative it allows you to be.  I found this idea online and personalized it with my own touches.  I plan to have a lot more DIY projects as the wedding comes closer, but here is one in particular that I had fun creating for my bridesmaids.

embracing the mountains.

I am finally home for the summer in the fresh state of Colorado.  After 16 hours in a overly packed car, I have safely made it home.  I thought that leaving California would be difficult because of my love for the beach, but surprisingly, I felt a new joy and excitement in my heart when I could finally see the Colorado mountains again.  The stress of LA traffic and smoggy air disappeared and I couldn't help but feel at peace as I drove on the three lane highway into Colorado Springs taking in the crisp air and bright stars; this is home.  This morning I embraced sleeping in and woke up to the familiar sound of birds chirping in the almost summer morning proceeded by cooking breakfast and enjoying a large cup of coffee.  I do not think I have moved from my spot on the couch all morning as I have been journaling, reading, and cleaning my computer of all the school work from this last semester.  And all this time the number of days until the wedding, 54, have been ringing in the back up my head.

Although my day today may sound like a typical lazy summer day, my summer will be nothing of the sort. Although excited, I am also overwhelmed and nervous about the new lists I will have to make today.  Rather than them having papers and projects written down with their due dates, they will have appointments, deadlines, and things to do before the big day.  I am very excited as planning is one of my favorite things to do, but I am also beyond myself at imaging how everything I need to do will get done in the next few weeks.

Also to accompany my planning, I am ecstatic to begin once again training, but in a much higher altitude.  I am not one hundred percent sure, but as one of my goals this year was to run a 10k, I am either going to be running the boulderBoulder on May 30th or the Estes Park 10k in the middle of June.  For most, 6 miles may seem like a breeze, but my longest thus-far is 4 and I am ready to reach this new goal and enjoy the training process as well.

On another note, a day that I thought would never come is near arrival: May 23rd, aka the day Anthony and I will begin living in the same state together!  What a concept right?  After nearly a year and a half of long distance, he will finally move to our new home in Fort Collins on May 23 and I will continue to live in Colorado Springs until the wedding (The distance is about 2 hours). We are SO excited to find a house, move in, and enjoy weekends together until the wedding. To be honest, we both just laugh when we think about actually seeing each other for more than a week at a time. It's a whole new idea to us! 

I also begin work in a few days. I honestly feel so blessed to have a job that I can continually rely on for Christmas breaks and summers.  I have been at Texas Roadhouse for over three years now, sometimes for a period of a year and other times, just to pick up a shift or two.  It will be nice to have a reliable job again for those of you who know how difficult this semester has been financially. It is definitely cool though to look back and see that I made it and God did provide.

On a final note, leaving APU has still not really set in yet.  For those of you who know, APU was a much larger attachment for me than just the two years I attended, but rather I began looking at APU in the spring of 2008.  For the last 3 years APU has been the center of my prayers and life.  Whether I was just praying that God would provide financially so that I could attend or I was finally living on campus, the school has more attachments to my heart than I think I even realize myself.  I am by no means detached or have emotional closure.  I know this will be a process that I have to continually work through.  To some, it may seem like leaving APU was my choice because I did decide to get married and leave, and although true, I really believe that I had little control in when I met Anthony and the rate at which our relationship progressed.  For those of you who have had this experience or have done long distance, I think you know what I am talking about. The four year plan sounded good in theory, but although it is for some people, it was not for us and I could not be happier to be marrying him and starting life together.  I never imagined that I would not be graduating for APU though or that it would hold little significance in the degree I received, but I know that God is in control and I feel absolutely blessed and thrilled that I get to have both the experience of a Christian University as well as a state school.  It is like I get to experience and learn from both worlds; an opportunity that not many have.  So, yes, it is very difficult leaving APU and I have ALOT to work through in order to get to a healthy place of closure because I am really going to miss it there and miss the people I have encountered, but I do feel like it was the right decision and I am excited for the journey to come.

A best friend of mine gave me the idea of making a poster with writing down everything God did in my life while at APU and being single so that, when I do start at CSU and am married, I will have a healthy closure with the past chapters of life and be able to be thankful and appreciative for all God did in those times while being excited for what He will do in the future.

That is all for now.  Look for pictures to come of my summer getaway room, as I am calling it. :)  Chocolate wood floors and tan walls will encompass my stay at home this summer and I am excited to decorate and move in starting this afternoon!