Appreciation

Mark's new restaurant had its grand opening this past Monday and they beat a BJ's sales record for an opening day, raking in upwards of $25,000 for the day. It's been an incredibly hectic, exhausting, and stressful couple of months since he started working in the hiring center. Even the guys at the restaurant have begun to get on each others' nerves. All of their bosses from corporate have been there all day breathing down their necks and their team members are all still learning the ins and outs of the restaurant. Mark's shift yesterday exemplifies how his job has been this summer. He went in at 4:00 pm to close the restaurant. When he closed any of the last four BJ's that he has worked for, the latest he has gotten home without having stayed to socialize was just after 3. He came through the door at 4:30 this morning, exhausted and pissed off. Time will definitely ease these pains and I'm estimating the restaurant will be working the way it should be by about February.

So, here I am, the wife of a restaurant manager who is opening a new restaurant. The only wife of all the managers involved in the opening. I've shared countless hours with Mark and his management team discussing the new hires and the kinks and glitches over beers. The guys have started to refer to me as an honorary member of the management team. I've begun referring to the restaurant operations as "ours" and talk about the things "we" do. Mark comes home upset and I've been there, of course and unquestionably, to try to calm him down. I've tried my best to always have food ready when he gets home from work and I've been doing all I can to hold my tongue when things just don't need to be said at that exact moment. I've been patient and he's been stressed. Mix the new restaurant opening with his quitting smoking (almost 2 months now!) and it's easy to see why we've had our fair share of squabbles this summer. While the guys were in the hiring center, I brought them lunch at least twice a week and I spent two whole afternoons pounding the pavement to hand out free take-out meals to local businesses, just so nobody (namely my husband) would have to do so after working ten, twelve, even fourteen hours in one day.

By no means am I complaining. I am so unbelievably proud of Mark for quitting smoking, especially during this stressful time. I also think that the experience of opening a new restaurant is one that will help him grow exponentially as a manager. Being that the restaurant is just over a mile from our house, he is planning on remaining there for the long-haul. This will be the restaurant where I take our kids to visit dad at work, where we, as a family, celebrate birthdays and baseball games and dance recitals (until BJ's decides to open in Michigan, of course). And, by no means, would I ever expect anything in return from Mark or from the restaurant. My job, as his wife, is to be there for him and to do whatever I can to support him and the restaurant.

I came home from jury duty today to find a bouquet of beautiful yellow and white daisies and white lilies with a card attached that read: Thank you for all your support, understanding, encouragement, patience, and lunch delivery! Mark is lucky to have you and so are we. - BJ's Operations Team

I was at a loss for words at the thoughtfulness that went into that thank you. Mark and I were just discussing how we don't do things because we expect to get something in return or, at least, we shouldn't. If that's the reason why a person does the things he or she does, then they really shouldn't do it in the first place. But, boy does it feel nice to be appreciated.