On Thanksgiving Eve...
You all. YOU ALL.
Where can I even start this post? I guess by saying that I have been up since 3:30 am on Tuesday and it is now 10:28 pm on Wednesday. I've worn the same PJP t-shirt for approximately 42 hours straight and that is the very least of my woes today.
If you happened by PJP Buttonwood today, you probably noticed that we were in severe need of a traffic cop, a bouncer, an organizer, a legitimate business person that didn't cry while baking pies,, and someone who followed us around with Xanax dust. And the story of today isn't a story for now...I need to be rested and have some time to reflect before I can share some thoughts about why 1700 pies was uh...AMBITIOUS.
But here is the point of my short post tonight...we had some customers today that weren't happy with us. I actually stood at the mixer and made French Silk while openly weeping because I wasn't sure what else to do in the face of hour-long waits to get in our store and people who were grouchy because we didn't have what they wanted, it wasn't ready, we didn't save it from yesterday, we did whip instead of meringue, or they felt we could work just a bit harder and bake a bit faster.
But here is the thing...today was one of the best days of my life. Our customers and friends poured into the store, took a look at us covered in cocoa and butter, and returned with wine, Caribou gift cards, offers to retrieve any sort of food or drink we needed, offers to roll their sleeves up and help in any way possible, or simply whispered to us that we were doing great in the face of all the chaos.
And for someone who isn't much for public crying, um, I cried A LOT. Mostly because I was humbled by the kindness of others. And mostly because I don't think I had ever felt so supported or believed in than through the acts of others today. And once I got all my tears packed away, a pizza delivery man showed up with pizza to feed our whole crew and it had been purchased by a family that believes in us and wanted to help. And then another person came back at 6 pm and brought her family members and they spent three hours helping us clean our kitchen. A STRANGER CLEANED OUR MICROWAVE. And took out our trash. And answered the phone when I just couldn't do it anymore. And celebrated with us when we flipped the lights off for the night. And delivered a few pies so that I could go home and see my kids and take a shower. And when I got home, my family treated me like a long traveling soldier in need of rest and care and love.
On so on Thanksgiving eve, I'm not sure I've ever felt more thankful for the people in my life and on the PJP journey with us. Thank you so much for your kindness and the wonderful care you took of us this week. We couldn't have done it without you. Seriously.
