Fighting for Joy (subtitle) Happy Anniversary, Parents!!!!
Oh right...I have a blog...you're supposed to keep those updated, aren't you? Oh well.
It seems the cold weather has struck. Sigh...Lauren's favorite time of the year! (no sarcasm there at all!)
I guess the only consolation is that during winter you can, excuse me, are forced to bundle up in blankets, enjoy hot drinks and read great books. Which is pretty much exactly what I was doing yesterday morning when my phone rang. It was work. In three short minutes, my week went from empty to scheduled for work everyday.
With a snarl, I threw off my blanket and started being productive, i.e. getting ready for work that afternoon. But after a week off and spending a couple of days just relaxing at a friend's house in Florida, there wasn't even a tiny part of me that wanted to go back to work.
As I was getting ready, I knew I had a bad attitude. And I didn't want to have a bad attitude. Because at work, there always seems to be plenty of negativity and mumbled complaining to go around. I certainly shouldn't be bringing some of my own to the table. Especially since there's a high likelihood that I'm the only Christian at the Marriott. At least it feels that way sometimes.
But why does it seem so hard to be joyful? I was reminded of something I heard Gareth Gilkeson, say in Rend Collective's (favorite band, by the way!) wonderful, beautiful, happy concert I attended a while back. He said that we have to fight for joy. One of their songs mentions that "we're choosing celebration." And that's what I felt like yesterday morning. That I was having to choose to be joyful. And I wasn't very joyful about having to choose to be so. Stellar attitude, I know. I should be ashamed.
But, I was determined to do it! Determined to be joyful! So, once I was at work, I began to make a list of things to be thankful for. I know, how utterly cliche is that? I kept it light-hearted, because sometimes I think we make ourselves feel guilty for not being grateful. But guilt never leads to joy, so what's the point? And you know what? Making my "thankful list" made me smile! So here's my list.
1. They fed us last night! Like, real food!
"Can I clear that for you, sir?" I asked and reached for the man's salad plate.
"Sure!" he said. "It was great, by the way."
"I'm glad you enjoyed it!"
"Do you ever eat here?" he asks with a teasing gleam in his eye.
Ah, the great torture of my job. Work for hours on end with no food whatsoever, all while serving people crisp salads, steaming entrees, and delicious desserts. I responded with a laugh and a "No!"
But I was proven wrong last night! During the program, when we're not allowed to enter the banquet room and clear plates, they not only sent us on break, but they let us eat the untouched leftover plates! It was amazing!
2. Ebola hasn't struck America.
"You know what I was thinking last night?" Stephen, the red coat (red coats are the people over us, who, shockingly, wear red coats) commented, as we were clearing tables. The guests had left so we had rolled in trash cans and were flying around putting up plates, glasses and silverware in order to get off work ASAP. "If Ebola hit America, we're like the worst possible business to be in!" he mused.
It's true. I'm always sliding food off plates, carrying handfuls of dirty silverware, and dumping five gallon buckets of leftover tea, water, salad dressing, coffee and creamer down drains with bare, exposed hands. And half the time I forget to wash my hands when we finally do get a break to eat.
I glanced down at my sticky fingers covered in butter, gravy and no doubt thousands of scurrying germs. "Yep," I declared. "If Ebola ever hit Augusta, we'd all die."
Stephen laughed and continued to joke about us walking around in gloves and gas masks while serving people food, claiming the Marriott would look like a zombie apocalypse. "Good thing Ebola's not an actual threat," he grinned.
Hey, it's the little things.
3. We got to listen to football on the radio while clearing! Instead of the repetitive Marriott soundtrack of elevator music and jazzy songs. Real, live, NFL football! It was incredible!
4. Okay, I know there were more than 4 but I can't remember them anymore. So I'm going to the most important one I thought of last night. Today, my parents have been married for twenty five years. Twenty five years! That's a quarter of a century! Not to, uh, make you guys feel old or anything (love you Mom and Dad!)
I was talking to Nina, a coworker, last night about our plans after we got off. I mentioned how I had to get home and figure out what I was going to do for my parent's anniversary in the morning. "It's twenty five years!" I said.
Her eyebrows raised slightly. "Wow," she said, "They've really made it last." There was almost a hint of sadness in her voice, and I wondered if her parents were still together. Sadly, I doubted it.
I think I've always taken for granted how special it is that my parents are still married. And that their marriage is Biblical and God-honoring. But it is special and I'm so, so very thankful for it. Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!! I love you guys!
5. Finally, I'm thankful for the cold weath- nope. I can't do it. Still not thankful for winter.
It seems the cold weather has struck. Sigh...Lauren's favorite time of the year! (no sarcasm there at all!)
I guess the only consolation is that during winter you can, excuse me, are forced to bundle up in blankets, enjoy hot drinks and read great books. Which is pretty much exactly what I was doing yesterday morning when my phone rang. It was work. In three short minutes, my week went from empty to scheduled for work everyday.
With a snarl, I threw off my blanket and started being productive, i.e. getting ready for work that afternoon. But after a week off and spending a couple of days just relaxing at a friend's house in Florida, there wasn't even a tiny part of me that wanted to go back to work.
As I was getting ready, I knew I had a bad attitude. And I didn't want to have a bad attitude. Because at work, there always seems to be plenty of negativity and mumbled complaining to go around. I certainly shouldn't be bringing some of my own to the table. Especially since there's a high likelihood that I'm the only Christian at the Marriott. At least it feels that way sometimes.
But why does it seem so hard to be joyful? I was reminded of something I heard Gareth Gilkeson, say in Rend Collective's (favorite band, by the way!) wonderful, beautiful, happy concert I attended a while back. He said that we have to fight for joy. One of their songs mentions that "we're choosing celebration." And that's what I felt like yesterday morning. That I was having to choose to be joyful. And I wasn't very joyful about having to choose to be so. Stellar attitude, I know. I should be ashamed.
But, I was determined to do it! Determined to be joyful! So, once I was at work, I began to make a list of things to be thankful for. I know, how utterly cliche is that? I kept it light-hearted, because sometimes I think we make ourselves feel guilty for not being grateful. But guilt never leads to joy, so what's the point? And you know what? Making my "thankful list" made me smile! So here's my list.
1. They fed us last night! Like, real food!
"Can I clear that for you, sir?" I asked and reached for the man's salad plate.
"Sure!" he said. "It was great, by the way."
"I'm glad you enjoyed it!"
"Do you ever eat here?" he asks with a teasing gleam in his eye.
Ah, the great torture of my job. Work for hours on end with no food whatsoever, all while serving people crisp salads, steaming entrees, and delicious desserts. I responded with a laugh and a "No!"
But I was proven wrong last night! During the program, when we're not allowed to enter the banquet room and clear plates, they not only sent us on break, but they let us eat the untouched leftover plates! It was amazing!
2. Ebola hasn't struck America.
"You know what I was thinking last night?" Stephen, the red coat (red coats are the people over us, who, shockingly, wear red coats) commented, as we were clearing tables. The guests had left so we had rolled in trash cans and were flying around putting up plates, glasses and silverware in order to get off work ASAP. "If Ebola hit America, we're like the worst possible business to be in!" he mused.
It's true. I'm always sliding food off plates, carrying handfuls of dirty silverware, and dumping five gallon buckets of leftover tea, water, salad dressing, coffee and creamer down drains with bare, exposed hands. And half the time I forget to wash my hands when we finally do get a break to eat.
I glanced down at my sticky fingers covered in butter, gravy and no doubt thousands of scurrying germs. "Yep," I declared. "If Ebola ever hit Augusta, we'd all die."
Stephen laughed and continued to joke about us walking around in gloves and gas masks while serving people food, claiming the Marriott would look like a zombie apocalypse. "Good thing Ebola's not an actual threat," he grinned.
Hey, it's the little things.
3. We got to listen to football on the radio while clearing! Instead of the repetitive Marriott soundtrack of elevator music and jazzy songs. Real, live, NFL football! It was incredible!
4. Okay, I know there were more than 4 but I can't remember them anymore. So I'm going to the most important one I thought of last night. Today, my parents have been married for twenty five years. Twenty five years! That's a quarter of a century! Not to, uh, make you guys feel old or anything (love you Mom and Dad!)
I was talking to Nina, a coworker, last night about our plans after we got off. I mentioned how I had to get home and figure out what I was going to do for my parent's anniversary in the morning. "It's twenty five years!" I said.
Her eyebrows raised slightly. "Wow," she said, "They've really made it last." There was almost a hint of sadness in her voice, and I wondered if her parents were still together. Sadly, I doubted it.
I think I've always taken for granted how special it is that my parents are still married. And that their marriage is Biblical and God-honoring. But it is special and I'm so, so very thankful for it. Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!! I love you guys!
5. Finally, I'm thankful for the cold weath- nope. I can't do it. Still not thankful for winter.
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