Looking back

I was hoping to have a post earlier today, but its just been one of those days, where it felt like I was running around all day.  It was a good day, just a busy one, so here it is 6:45 pm as I write, but hey “It is what it is!” “C ‘est la vie!”

I took some time reading through old journals of mine. Oh I could never wonder what to post again, if I just started posting my journal entries. Sorry, that’s not going to happen! But now and then I may share some snippets.

I was just randomly reading entries when I found one that talked about my job right out of High school. I worked at a fast food restaurant in the food court at our local mall. Back when malls flourished and were the place to be, unlike today! We kept very busy there.

There was one day when my manager let me know the day before that he was going to be late. During the times when he was gone for a bit he would put me in charge, it was nice knowing that he trusted me.

This one particular day I was in his office doing paperwork and the phone rang. It was a man wanting to know if he could pick up 40 Chicken sandwiches in about one hour. We never had that big of order before. We  only had one cook that morning and I was thinking how I really wish my boss was there right now! Along with the 40 chicken sandwiches he wanted 40 med/large fries to go with it and of course drinks. He had an accent so it was hard to understand him as I was frantically writing things down. He wanted to know how much the 40 sandwiches would cost and then wanted to know if there could be a cost difference if he didn’t get the bun and just got 40 fillets of chicken. As I was figuring out prices it was silent on the other end for a bit and then I heard laughter. Wait a minute, I recognized the sound of that laughter.  Yes, I recognized it very well, for it was my manager!! He congratulated me on how well I handled the conversation. I told him that he might want to consider staying home the rest of the day for his own safety!

Around that same time I had written about the guy I liked who came to order food from us each day. He worked at the music store. My friend was trying to fix us up. She knew him well and said that she knew he liked me.  So one day she was there with him and I was waiting on him. She gave him a nudge and said, “So do you like her?”  Yes, I still remember the look I gave my friend when she said that.  He said, “Yes, who wouldn’t like her!”  Oh gosh! Did I mention this was a public place with lots of people around. But hey it worked, he asked me out on a date and yes my heart was swooning.

Those memories brought smiles and then I read about my last day working there. I was moving down South. My last day was filled with tears because goodbyes are so hard! I still remember scrubbing the counters extra hard that day, even though they didn’t need it. I needed to do something to try to keep a handle on my emotions.

As I finished reading and closed my journal and a thought came to me. I never saw any of my co-workers, boss or that special guy again. I walked out that day closing a chapter on my life and was on the way to starting a new one.

I look back now and think how far I have come since then.  At that time, on that day I wasn’t sure what was going to happen. I just knew that my heart was hurting.  Now though I can see all the great things that  have happened since then. All the adventures that were waiting for me.

We go through so many chapters in life, beginnings and endings.  Sometimes it can be hard to see past the pain of an ending, but we need to remember that we will make it. That there are still adventures waiting to happen.   We need to just remember to follow the yellow brick road.