A Lost Art

My grandmother would be so proud.

Today, I was taught the art of place setting: where the salad and dinner fork, spoon, knife, desert and napkin go. Which direction the fork points, or the spoon, depending on its placement. And which way to point the knife (toward the plate). I know, I know. In the grand scheme of things these details and knowledge are pretty useless. Knowing where a fork goes won't make me a better person or solve world hunger. But for right now, it's paying my bills.

Last January I sent an inquiry email to Garden of the Gods' Gourmet. I rode by their place of business several times and thought - I love food, they're gourmet so let's make this happen. That's actually what I put in my application. A day later the manager called, next thing I know I'm running food all over Colorado Springs. It was exhausting! But I showed up on time, had a positive attitude and guess what? Within two months I was promoted to work the Market.

The Market went well. I sold products, educated customers on what we have and continued to lend a hand as much as possible. Again, I showed up on time, had a positive attitude and guess what? Within three months I was promoted to work in logistics.

Logistics went well. I posted the daily boards in the kitchen, helped out in as many was as possible. Then I went away for a month to Spain. I wasn't sure what would happen when I returned. But you guessed it, I showed up on time, had a positive attitude and guess what? Within two weeks I was promoted to work in event planning.

I've been open about my training schedule and travel - and my boss is completely fine with it. It is so nice to be valued and recognized. And to pursue my passion of racing. I am happy to be a part of this team and contribute in as many ways as possible. So today, I helped with place settings in our banquet facility for 75 people. I could hear my grandmother's praise and remembered how much she loved details about parties and the "proper" way to do things. The event was flawless, the customers happy.

I never would have thought I'd be planning people's weddings, taking care of a building and put in a serious leadership role this quickly. But I'm rolling with it, showing up on time and have a positive attitude.

As I folded linen napkins, I glanced down at my fingernails and laugh - Mummer also the one who told me that if I continued to bite my fingernails as a little girl, I wouldn't have any friends. I better start working on that....