Please, No Ukeleles.

I would be remiss to start without mentioning a very big milestone at PJP today.  Our Executive Vice-President of Box Assembly graduated from the 5th grade tonight.  And if you've ever purchased a five-inch or nine-inch pie from PJP Buttonwood or Lucky's, then you've experienced his handiwork.  If there is anything I've learned over the last year, it is that it takes a village to run a pie shop...even when your villager is 11.  I've also learned that if you make a PowerPoint presentation of baby pictures juxtaposed to 5th grade pictures and set that to the ukelele version of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow", I'll just ugly cry all over the place.

(As a side note, you could probably put Marilyn Manson lyrics to a ukelele and I would ugly cry.  Remind me of this if I start to consider PJP Honolulu.)

Because graduation started at 5:45 tonight and we needed to look more presentable than being dusted in flour and coated in exhaustion, we did something that we've never done before.  We left PJP Buttonwood in the hands of another.  As in legitimately handed over a key and put all of our trust and belief in our new employee and just went with it.  I KNOW, RIGHT?

A few weeks ago, we hired Julia...an exceptionally smart Rock Bridge High School student and all around amazing girl.  If you've been in on Saturdays in the past two weeks. you likely had the opportunity to meet her as she trained on all things PJP.  And today, she totally stepped up to the plate...she spent the last hour at PJP Buttonwood and waited on customers, answered the phone, and took orders.  And it felt odd...as odd as watching your first baby walk across the stage to accept a diploma that sends him to middle school.

So, a big day all around...a big day of growth and change.  And just as our Executive Vice-President of Box Assembly bailed to find his friends as soon as he hit the Rock Bridge High School Performing Arts Center, Julia didn't even need to text or call me with any questions or concerns.  I'm not sure if I should be flattered on both accounts by the smart, independent, and achieving nature of both parties or if I should be crying in a corner because I was a little unneeded throughout the evening.  Maybe a little of both?

At least Julia doesn't play the ukelele.  I think.  I hope?