a new attitude

First let me preface this post with a great big Happy Mother's Day! One mighty little lady and her big shoes, big drinks, and definite big ideas shaped who I am today. I love you mom! Today is the first Mother's day where I was actually able to sleep in, get a bedside serenade by my little one, and have pancakes and coffee provided by my beautiful husband. On this bright sunny day I get to do NOTHING!! Well of course that won't happen because I still have obligations(try as I might not to), but at least these obligations are at my leisure. Past Mother's days had me at the restaurant early in the morning to start a long, arduous day taking care of other mothers and their families. After the brunch rush, a quick mimosa, cinnamon roll and than on to the even more crazy dinner rush taking care of now impatient other mothers and their equally impatient families. Ah, holidays. Not to be this year!! My husband and I are now 2 weeks into our early "retirement" and let me tell you, OMG!! I never thought that quitting a job and simultaneously decreasing my income would actually alleviate all my stress. After months of anxiety about the unknown, my husband and I took one very large step off the cliff and put all our faith in the idea of a new life. A new life that promised more time together as a family, more time to focus on our real careers and more time to focus on, well, our life. Let me tell you, this was not an easy decision to come by, so bound by financial obligations we didn't think this ever possible. After a lot of extra work to catch up on bills, pay off the car(FINALLY), stock up the store, we were ready. Fifteen years working in a restaurant is considered a LONG time in that business. Fortunately I loved my job and my coworkers, well most of them. We had a few suspect managers, chefs, and servers that weren't always high on my list. That aside, our core group of friends/coworkers were always there to provide the entertainment when customers weren't behaving nicely.  It is this comraderie I will miss, the little nuances that determined the mood of the evening. Is the salad girl going to be nice tonight? Is the chef going to yell at the slow server? Is the pizza guy going to bitch all night because he is the only one busy? Is the crazy Albanian dishwasher going to boss the chef around all night? So as not to cut all ties I can still make "guest appearances" and work a shift every now and then. So to that crazy life we said bon voyage and sailed off to our new horizon. Transition is never easy even when welcomed. My husband so used to being busy all the time tends to wander the house looking for something to do. Now you know as a wife, I can find him plenty of activity( the closet door that still needs hung). I of course feel like a lion out of a cage...FREEDOM!! Off and running to my store, happy to be alone with my old crap, I am able to finish my projects, have more time to scout for old stuff, and just be happy being my own boss. My husband also has more time to do what men do, whatever that is. Seriously though, he is like a pig in poop with his new job, days at the park with his son, and evenings with his wife. Never in a thousand years did we imagine so much possibility in instability. So now that the hard part is over, the leaping is done, we are ready to forge ahead with a new attitude and create our life as we know it. Good afternoon world.