The Feast of Saint Valentine

We went to George’s Kitchen, a diner in Cleveland, for a late breakfast on Valentine’s Day.  Our party consisted of me, the Common Household Husband, Older Daughter and her husband.

It was the diner-iest looking diner I have seen in a long time.  Our seasoned waitress was clad in a beautiful bright red sweater, appropriate for this saint’s day.  As we arrived at our table, I observed several patrons shoving money into the waitress’s apron pocket as they were leaving.  They clearly adored her.  

George wants everyone to eat a lot of eggs.  The menu discouraged the ordering of eggs in increments of one or two.  All breakfast dishes were THREE eggs plus something else, such as corned beef hash, or bacon & hash browns, or an omelette.  EXCEPT, if you ordered pancakes, you could then add TWO eggs.  

The menu said, “Absolutely no substitutions” at the top of every page.  I was downright afraid to ask for just two eggs, without ordering pancakes.

The waitress took our order, calling my 30+ year-old daughter “dear”, a requirement in a diner.  On the down side, orange juice was the only juice available.  On the up side, the CHH was excited to order corned beef hash.  He’s not going to get that at home.

When we were finished giving our order, the waitress said, “Ok, thanks.  I’ll be back in a couple of hours,” and walked away.

A short time later, she served us our large meals. A while later she came back to check on us.  Upon seeing that the CHH had cleaned bare his plate of corned beef hash, she said, “Oh, you did a good job on that!”  CHH teased, “Well, I was waiting for you to bring me some breakfast.”  She replied that she was all alone because she had killed two husbands. 

As we were lingering over breakfast, we heard the man at the table behind us call our waitress over.  I did not look, but could hear that he had a baby with him.  We overheard him say, “I have a huge request. And there will be a big tip in it for you.  Would you be able to watch my baby while I go out to the car?  I know it’s a big thing to ask, but I will only be gone a few minutes.”  I guess he had not heard her comment about former husbands.    She agreed to look after Baby.

At our table, the CHH murmured his doubt that Single Dad would actually return.  We held our breath.  A minute passed. The waitress cooed at the baby.  Our tension increased.  Two minutes.  Then, sigh of relief, Single Dad returned.  Faith in human beings restored, at least for today!

I’m not much into Valentine’s Day, but our red-sweatered waitress showed us the day of love in action.  (Perhaps we should ask those deceased husbands if they know St. Valentine, who might be hanging out with them in martyr’s row in heaven).  

I wish I could write novels, if only so I could put that waitress into a book.   

Handwritten sign on the door
listing the hours.  
No service after 2:45 PM!

To Do List or Not To Do List, That is the Congestion

 January and February are months of True Drudgery for me. My duties and tasks are overwhelming.  Is it this way for everyone, specifically in Jan-Feb?  

In 2024 I wrote myself a Jan-Feb To Do list, I guess so I wouldn’t be surprised by anything, such as:

• It’s January 15th!  Have you paid your quarterly estimated taxes? Due today!

• Church stats (this is actually 9 separate tasks). Forget the Feb GA deadline, YOUR deadline is January 26th!

• People are clamoring for retreat info.  Better send that email soon!

• Learn the music for the retreat!  Better practice some more!  And get that song lyric sheet done and printed.

• Why are the Christmas decorations not in the attic?  Eh?!

• Where is your email inviting voters in your precinct to the fundraiser for which the deadline is in 10 days?  Better get on that!

And so on.  

I completed these tasks.

There are 55 individual items on my list for these two months.  So far I have completed 24 of them.  That’s just the regular stuff.  I have also had a $#!t-ton of stuff to do in the grassroots category, all rushed and desperate-feeling, and not part of the 55 tasks.

I feel competent to do each task individually, but not competent to complete all of them during this short time period.  I even would enjoy doing some of them, if they weren’t bunched together.  

Most of these are not yet finished.  The deadline looms.

The Common Household Husband is facing huge stresses, real and equally overwhelming.

Add to this the anxiety of just living in these times.  

And the challenges that come naturally with aging.  

And the tasks that come with our paid jobs.  

And winter storms.  

And prolonged cold.  

And the grocery store always being out of raw-fresh-not-frozen turkey breast to roast at home.

Another 2 inches of snow overnight.
Windchill in the negatives.

Had to shovel a carveout to reach
the mailbox.

These are things that even an abundant supply of tea and dark chocolate cannot cure.

Sooner or later something in the Common Household was bound to explode.  Two nights ago it did.  Both members of this household uttered harsh words.  Used nasty tones to each other.  A door was slammed.  Both members of this household went to bed angry with each other.

The next morning, thanks to both members of this household being thinking and feeling human beings, we said our apologies to each other, and acknowledged that the unbearable stress is getting to us.  

This is all while we are adequately fed, clothed, and sheltered.  I cannot imagine the trauma of those being beaten down by our own government, literally beaten, shackled, threatened, tossed around, separated from family, racially profiled, subjected to illness, disappeared.  And murdered. All that is brought to us by several unfeeling, greedy, racist human beings, and moreover by their enablers who hope to profit.   Never forget that human beings are capable of what they are doing.  

All this is to say, please take care of yourselves and each other.  The Common Household Husband and I said out loud that we must recognize when the stresses are getting overwhelming for each of us, and take extra precautions not to act or react harshly.  

Please do gather in groups of people who will care for and look out for each other.  

Please do art.  

Please do music and singing.  Keep a song in your pocket. Here is mine for this year.

Find beauty.  Encourage each other.  As the scripture I heard today says:

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.  - Philippians 4:8

Pie should be on that list in Philippians 4:8.