To say that my kitchen is not
exactly functional for normal use
right now would
be an understatement.
It is much more like a factory.
The boys come in and put their
Hot Pockets in the microwave
or frozen pizzas in the oven
but regular cooking is rare
at this time of the year.
Sad.
But true.
So, the other evening
Mom, Chelsea and I met Warren
at the Olive Garden.
Not our usual place to grab a bite
but it just sounded sooooo good.
Our server was one who seemed to
be going through the motions
enthusiastically.
What do I mean by that?
Well, she was very animated but you
could tell that it was all canned,
so to speak.
Very been there, done that.
I wasn't overly impressed but
we weren't there to be entertained
so it really didn't matter.
However, as time went on
there was a thaw in her personality.
She began doing special favors.
We began chatting and her sense of
humor became evident.
Finally she left the bill and a huge
handful of mints.
Our eyes got big and we each had
a "few". Then she came back and
dropped another huge handful on the table
declaring that she couldn't remember if
she had given us our mints yet.
We laughed and I showed her my
empty wrapper and asked if
we made those disappear if we would
get more.
Well, that was all of the encouragement
this lady needed.
Next thing we knew there was a goblet
full of Olive Garden mints in the center
of the table.
So, we ate some.
Then she asked if we wanted
any dessert?
I pointed out that I thought we
had kind of "done that".
She put her head back and
roared. She also agreed.
We prepared to leave with goody bag
in hand when didn't that silly lady
bring another goblet full to dump
in our bag.
Sheesh!
Chocolate mint overload.
So....if only the story ended here it would
have been more chocolate than this family
needed, but alas, it does not.
You know by now that our Chelsea
is just a bit of a Starbucks fan.
So, our next stop before heading home
was our favorite Starbucks store.
One of our favorite barrista's was there for
the first time in a while.
He said he was happy to see us since it
had been a while and we told him that he
was the one who had been missing.
He agreed.
He'd been on his honeymoon.
We were so happy for him!!
So...
I'm standing there waiting
for for our drinks to be prepared
when this young man
walks over with two very
chocolaty desserts and says
"Shhh....don't tell anyone,
but these are for you."
Did I mention....
they were very rich and very
chocolatey and we had just eaten
about a ton of Olive Garden mints??
Oh. Dear.
But what was I to do?
I thanked him enthusiastically
and took the chocolate.
We shared it.
It was delicious.
No mint.
Just caramel and pretzels.
I so appreciate the servers of this
world. Their jobs are not easy.
Recognizing that they are humans
with families, lives and struggles
is a good thing.
It makes our interactions with them
so much sweeter.
"Hug" a server today....
they will be shocked!
O.k. so not literally.
But just try asking them about
their day...and smile!!
Not everyone they deal with
is as nice as you are.
Who knows,
if they happen to be cleaning
out the dessert case at the end
of the night they may choose
to offer something to you
instead of putting it in the trash.
LOL