There's No Place Like Home

Through with training at the airport until Sunday. I had to work a double at my home restaurant today and was relaxing to back.

Yes they are extremely  crazy but so am I.

Barb has been extremely gracious which is totally out of her "Boss Lady" character  but knows I'm only taking this second job to help my family.

Barb's got my back, always has... maybe it's just a "Girl thing" but my biggest regret is I've lost my "Bestie".

I love them both dearly but Len and I have always been close, especially when Barb is out of earshot.

He's a crusty old Italian with a temper like an atom bomb times ten but if you're a hard worker basically never have problems with him. Oh yeah, every once in a while he'll explode at you but ten minutes later has forgotten all about it.

I don't think he wanted to keep me around once Barb told him I was taking a second job, especially for another restaurant but once again, Barb had my back.

Unbelievably, he changed his mind and let me remain, dropping from five or six shifts a week to four.

This man who is almost ten years older than me works a minimum of  ninety hours, seven days a week. How he does it is a mystery to me but explains his sometime massive explosions.

These two  people took me in when at my all time low. Barb has floated me loan after loan and although I always paid her back, she never had to loan me money...but always  did.

I love crazy Len. I know his feelings are hurt and hurts me to hurt his.

I have to constantly tell myself  this isn't ABOUT them, it's about MY family.

I'll have to give Len kudos for being a pretty gracious guy. He doesn't joke around with me anymore like he used to but hasn't harped on or totally ignored me either. I feel like the chick who dumped her date after the prom.

If my husband and I were still making six figures a year  would be happy as a clam working only at Mama's, eight minutes away from my house but we're not making six figures and sinking fast.

This opportunity came seemingly out of nowhere and would be a complete idiot to not take advantage of it.

So I'm still at my home restaurant four shifts a week and grateful to be there. I totally understand Len's being upset with me. Not to brag but am one of the better servers and hands down one of Len's "Besties".

I miss Len talking and joking with me but is a small price to pay at this point.

No matter what happens from this point forward will always be grateful for the love and support this totally dysfunctional but amazingly wonderful family has given me.

On a more comical note, when I first started for Mama's, I thought Len looked like Dr. Evil.

Then his son told me his dad reminded him more of this guy...

Yep, Len's blind as a bat  like me without his peepers and totally get the Mr.Magoo reference but that's okay, I'm totally Phyllis Diller , and that's alright with me too. It beats being compared to one of the "Real Housewives of any city."

Til next time...a conflicted but hopeful COTTON