Full Moon Fever

I'm a firm believer in Full Moon Madness. It brings out the crazy in people. Sunday is the official full moon but it's pretty close to being full tonight.

I had an awesome day. Started early and by noon had chores done and dinner cooking in the stove. Work was insane tonight. I was talking with the owner tonight after we closed. Sales for this night were up fifty percent from this date last year.

I had a party of thirty with another server, a wedding rehearsal. We work well together and it  went smooth as silk. The mother of the groom  was paying and seemed very pleased. She let us add an 18% gratuity and kicked in a Franklin extra for us. NICE!

I had a couple of folks who were flat out crazy but at least they tipped well. Had one table of Europeans...Rut Row. There's nothing a server dreads more than hearing a European accent. Overseas, servers are considered professionals and make a much higher wage. On top of that most places there automatically add gratuity . The bill was $136.00 and they left me eleven bucks. Of course they did say I did an outstanding job and made their night. Compliments are great but hard to pay a mortgage with. At least they were pleasant peeps. It's worse when they are horrible guests AND don't tip. Made it up on the rehearsal dinner but didn't walk out of the restaurant until after midnight, feeling like I was coming down with the ancient Chinese disease, "Dragon Ass."

I've been really digging having two days in a row off each week. I can't remember the last time I did, it was probably when in my teens.

I've gotten my house so clean, can actually answer the door without peeking out the upstairs window first. The laundry stays caught up and little details usually neglected get done on a weekly basis. It's amazing how happy clean doors and baseboards can make you feel. My kitchen looks marvelous from the makeover my sister gave it and everyone in the house knows I'm a freak about keeping it spotless now.

I've been going room by room, detailing. Ceiling fans...used to just always keep them on so you couldn't see how filthy the blades were. Guess what? That's right, every one of them are clean now. I've been cleaning the junk drawer, in other words every drawer in the house. I've cleaned out closets and cleaned out under cabinets.

I even did my nails last night, something I haven't done in four months. I still haven't shaved my legs but the prickly hairs  help my socks stay up. I think the last time I shaved them was when we moved Massey into her college dorm last August. I'm going to need a chain when I do.

I've scrubbed walls and toilets. I've cleaned light fixtures I forgot were clear. I've cleaned every window sill in my house and washed curtains that were most probably feeling extremely neglected, because they were.

I've pruned my out of control rose bush and  the garage can now actually hold a car without having to walk sideways to the kitchen door. Pictures and bookshelves have been dusted and have even had the time to start reading again. I haven't read a book in three months and usually read one every week or so.

All three of my kids are gainfully employed and my two sons still living at home have started really helping us out, financially and physically. They have started cleaning  brush from the back of our yard where woods at the back of our property are trying to take over and shrinking our yard every year.

They kick in for a bill when hear me lamenting about something being late or overdo. Massey got a job on campus and makes enough we don't have to send her spending money.

All in all it is, as The Beatles said "Getting better all the time."

Tim's still looking for full time work but thanks to the tipping gods, my family and kids are staying afloat and Momma can take two days off a week.

I could still work seven days a week and lose my sanity but it's not like those two extra days will solve all our problems and the relief I feel when  Tuesday night's shift ends and know I have until Friday for myself is SO worth it, it's not even funny.

I've had horrible back problems for a few weeks but Tim has shown me how to stretch and feels much better. I just have to be consistent, do it every day and use the heating pad and ice pack alternatively. Another server (yes a young one) said "Don't you think going a chiropractor would help?"

I told her I was sure it would, but stretching every day is free and already own a heating pad AND icepack.

 I think about my life at the age of almost fifty four. I'm officially past middle age unless I live to be a hundred and eight.

Talk about depressing!

You know what? If I die tomorrow, will have died a happy woman. I have a husband and kids who love me. I have fantastic sibs and a great job....AND I have two days off a week.

I have the whole Full Moon weekend to work and are usually major banking days.

Even if they aren't,  feel so frisky and well rested  I really don't even worry about it anymore.

Que Sera, Sera.

What will be will be.

Til next time...COTTON

That Was One "Mother" of a Day!

Here is a picture of our "86" board at work yesterday.  "86" means you are out of something in restaurant lingo. It was so busy that as the day dragged on it was easier to remember the items we had than to remember all the items that had been "86'ed."

We opened at 11 AM. I got there at 10:15 and by 10:45 we were seating guests. I waited on tables non stop from 10:45 until after closing at 8:30 PM. It was insanity in the truest form of the word. People getting upset because they had to wait for a table. People wondering why their food took so long? People leaving a fifty year old mother working her  thirty third Mother's Day in a row a ten percent tip. Holidays are always considered "Amateurs Day" in the restaurant world. They are filled with people that dread having to go out yet  are forced to. They hate having to spend the money and hate more having to tip as well.  As a general rule I always make 20% at my current restaurant. The food is out of this world, they make every thing from scratch.  They even make the stocks they cook with, use only fresh herbs and each dish is individually prepared in it's own saute pan.

I was prepared for it. I have been a server for 33 years and know how holidays can be. Thirty three years ago it was much easier to do. I was young and only working to have money to be able to go out and party with my friends. Now I am almost fifty two and work six days a week just to keep our heads above water while still working with kid's in their twenties and thirties. They complain about the section of tables they have been assigned, some work harder at avoiding work than it would take to just do the actual work and some just bitch the entire shift....it's exhausting to an ole woman like me.

I hung in there and was actually impressed that I walked with fifteen percent of my sales. I sold nearly $1400.00 and walked with $220.00. Had it been a normal night I would have easily made $280.00.  "Happy Mother's Day to Me!"

One tab was $192.00. They left me a twenty. Another was $92.00 and they left me a ten. One was $111.00 and they left me twelve. For Pete's sake people...get a grip! It's hands down the busiest day of the year. I may be skinny but I have plenty of gray hair and a wedding band on. The massive  wrinkles on my face not only  imply but... SCREAM "I have kids!"

I was just glad it was over. I was just glad to leave. I was just glad I had survived. I came home and sat on my butt reading my book out on the back porch and drinking cheap beer. Now it MEANT something real..."Happy Mother's Day to me!"

Today I had to go right back in and open the restaurant and work YET again another double shift. The owner barked at me that I hadn't written on the specials board  which sits out front of the store to display our current special offerings, enticing customers to come in and check us out.

I gave them my OWN special message on their little specials board! (See above photo)

Of course I didn't put this out front but at least it made the owners chuckle. I work for a married couple.  The owner is one part Italian and one part French. His wife is one part Polish and one part German. We got all of WWII going on in our place and it is evident each and every day!

I worked the lunch shift and got off just in time to pick up Massey five  minutes late from school. Stopped to put gas in Tim's tank of a car and drove her home. Went to the bank and cashed the check they had written me last night because they ran out of cash to pay the servers because every one charged Mother's Day. I went  home and picked up Zach and drove him back to work for his 5:00 shift.  I went across the street to get a free Chic Fil A sandwich (Thank you Jess) and scarfed it down at a table in the back of the store before clocking back in.

It was slow and I was grateful  it was. The owners simply like me being there because I know what I am doing. I simply wanted to leave because I am old and tired.

I stuck around...didn't want to but HAD to.

Got another blog in the works about tonight but have to weigh my words carefully...I "AM" working with half of Europe and it could be explosive if not worded  correctly and precisely.

Til next  time...COTTON