All Alone

Fifteen hours ago I was looking at the same sight, only it was lit by the early morning light- an empty, clean restaurant. 

I opened the place spent an hour alone taking inventory and quality checking the food.

And at night, I run the same report, inventory prep list for the morning and quality checking food, once again alone.

In between those times was a whirl of chaos.

I cooked (by myself) over 50 pounds of pasta, made 7 trays of stuffed mushrooms, cooked 14 chocolate cakes, diced chopped and graded. 

Put in the produce order, drove out to pick up the produce order. (Spilled a box of lemons on the road, every single lemon left the box and was rolling away)

I updated chalkboards, spent an hour or so cooking for the dinner rush. 

I bossed around the cooks, listened to a server complaint, and then listened to another, bossed around the servers. I talked to guests and had no guest complain about anything today (Miracle) 

I made bar drinks and fixed a pipe. 

And I stand in the empty restaurant about to lock up and the only thing you can hear is the hum of the ice machine. We messed up the entire place, then cleaned it back up again. Crazy. 

I love my job. I feel like I know how to do it better then anyone on the planet.

I love to joke around with the employes and I love that I am in charge and I can boss them around too. 

I love how I look in my very own chef coat, I love to chop basil, and get paid to drive my car. 

The city is magic, to walk alone down it's streets at night is empowering but being in that restaurant alone is even better. 

It feels like home some nights. 

A home that doesn't have a bed or anyplace to relax, a home that means if you are there your feet will hurt, but home non the less!!

I have no plans to leave, but already miss the day I will not be there, loving it and missing it. . . . I don't know how those two emotions run together in my heart, but they do. 

My beautiful little work space. .