I AM OUT OF TOWN THIS WEEK ATTENDING THE LEADING CATERERS OF AMERICA SUMMIT IN SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS. PLEASE ENJOY THIS GUEST POST BY MY WONDERFUL WIFE AND HEAD HONCHO OF HAPPINESS AT FOOTERS, APRIL LAMBATOS.

I don’t know about you but I am tired! Our industry spent the majority of 2020 and into 2021 working tirelessly just to “survive” the pandemic. Then restrictions on gatherings began to lift and we all got to experience what it feels like to drink from a fire hose. All of this is in addition to dealing with a labor shortage that we have never seen before in my lifetime.

 A few weeks ago my children had Fall break. Surprisingly, Anthony and I actually had that weekend available so we jumped at the opportunity to fly somewhere warm and just do nothing for a couple days. Our trip was 5 days total and it was going to be glorious, no plans, just pool time and sunshine! We had such a relaxing family trip and on the last day I was hyper-aware that it was coming to an end. I tried to convince my wonderful husband that we should stay just one more day, but he made the responsible choice to get back to Denver as originally planned. I am always trying to push the envelope.

We still had a full day to enjoy before we returned home and as I laid on my floatie in the pool and watched our kiddos do a continual loop running up to the top of the water slide, sliding down and then hitting repeat for the next couple hours, knowing that this experience was soon going to end, I couldn’t help but soak it in a little extra. The pool beers tasted better that day and the sun felt warmer, like it was truly enriching my soul. The palm trees and blue sky were trying really hard to lure me to stay and convince Anthony to leave me at the pool forever. Some of you must understand this feeling, and I swear it was not just the beers talking! Reluctantly, I was on the flight home that evening with my family.

More than that it got me thinking, why does it take a finite end or almost losing something for us to have a greater appreciation and experience more joy? I asked Anthony: “Why can’t we be this present to all the elements of vacation for the entire time?”. We both pondered that for a while and had good conversation on the topic. The easy excuse in my mind was that, Day 1 is traveling to your destination, unpacking, getting situated and then usually Day 2 is unwinding and de-compressing in preparation for the enjoyment. Day 3 you finally get the energy to get busy with activities and on and on and on. The reality is, that is a lie I’m telling myself because most of us are conditioned to not live in the moment. and busy is an excuse that is most times used as an unhealthy crutch.

I started this MIBE message a little different and on a bit of a sour note, that was intentional. In the past two weeks since I have returned from my family Fall break vacation, I’ve been starting my days with gratitude and meditation on being more present in the moment.  Remember, MIBE stands for Make It Better Everyday, and small incremental changes amount to huge change over time. So, I am not eating the entire elephant at once with this, I am taking small manageable bites. I’m continuing to remind myself that true joy is discovered along the journey and not necessarily at the destination. I would encourage each of you to begin the day with gratitude to be more present in the moment and find the joy in each day. Maybe if I would have been more present and hyper-aware to all the gifts I actually received since the pandemic began, I could have been a little less tired along the way.