Tim's new job requires him to work out of town Tuesday through Friday every other week or so. It's like a vacation for us both, trust me.
If Forrest Gump and Jen-Nay were like peas and carrots, Tim and I are like Phyllis Diller and Jed Clampett, married to each other.
I'm just trying to be funny...but is eerily a true statement.
I'm not even kidding when I say one of Tim's favorite things to do is slowly shake his head at me when I do or say something, and quietly say to no one in particular, "Pitiful...just...Pitiful."
What can I say???
It's worked for us since 1988.
I'm finally feeling like my old crazy self again.
Poor Tim...
Oh, the above is his other favorite thing to say to me.
I consider them both terms of endearment.
On the other end of the spectrum of our relationship, bet I say this to him at least once a day.
That's us in a proverbial Nut (small pun) Shell.
We were as blessed as we were jinxed. We had so much help from so many others, with sometimes never even having to ask... and with lots of hard work have finally emerged from our abyss and moving up and ahead and beyond.
So with Tim out of town this week, have decided it is time for me to get back to my Pay It Forward motto.
One of our Sous Chefs at work is getting married...after an eleven year and two kid later relationship. He's an awesome guy. Almost young enough to be my own kid. He always calls me "Ms. Kelly"... never just Kelly. He was so helpful to me when I started my new job here and was scared sh*tless about starting in a new place.
I've done pretty well this past week, even though it has been slow, so came home from work last night and to wrote him and his bride in a card to congratulate them on their big day (tomorrow). Of course it was was a lengthy two page note (I like to write) and gave him plenty of unsolicited advice about making making marriage work and included thirty bucks in the card. Then I thought about their two kids so added them "pop open" cards my sweet sister ordered and had sent to me here in Orlando to include in the endless letters I write each and every week.
Then you pop it open and has an inspirational quote for you to read. Each card has a different one.
Huge shout out to my sister for my little cards (about 2"x 2"). What an awesome insert when writing to someone!
I got to work tonight with my card, thinking the Sous Chef would be there but he'd already left for the day. I gave the card to my GM, told him it was for Chef and asked if he'd hang on to it and give it to him. He said "You didn't need to do that." I told him I didn't need to, I wanted to.
Pay It Forward number one...check!
I was on a roll now.
I tend to be a player .
Another young girl who works there with me as a cook and lives with her parents is one of the sweetest people you could ever meet. Her mother suffers from debilitating MS and father has recently been diagnosed and currently battling aggressive cancer.
So I asked her the other day, after telling me her dad had lost over twenty pounds...to ask him (in southern speak) what he had a hankerin' for?
Her response?
Anything...he's off Chemo this next week.
BAM!!
I have (don't ask me why... don't know) a ten pack of throw away aluminum pans, so making them a huge pan of lasagna and dropping it off at their house tomorrow for dinner and hopefully lots of leftovers. Throw in some garlic bread and a salad and all they have to do is eat and throw away the pans. A "No Clean Up" dinner is the best kind of dinner.
Do I have to do any of these things?
Absolutely not.
Do I want to?
Absolutely!
So what we were poor for ten years? Big whoop. We're not anymore. It's just money anyway and highly over rated. We aren't rich but we have enough to help a few others.
It's time to return to helping others. It's time to pay back. It's time to pay it forward.
I have a (possibly delusional) husband who loves me for some unknown reason but has continued to for almost thirty years.
I have three kids who have very seldom disappointed, but more often than not... thrilled and filled my heart.
I don't write to tout about my own successes. I write to encourage others to take a step back. Take a break from your own inner worries, concerns, problems and think about the bigger picture around you. More often than not, your problems will pale in comparison to millions of others. Be grateful for what you have been given...not for what you think you need. Give some small amount of joy to someone else who needs it more and trust me, will come back to you ten fold.
Life summed up...
You get what you give. The more you give, the more you will receive.
True Fact.
I felt for almost ten years I was drowning. I wasn't.
It was a time for me to realize that one drop of water means everything.
Tomorow is a stretch of a promise. Live today, live your moment, live your seconds.
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