Easter Recap

Just as I predicted, Easter weekend at PJP was a struggle. This was our eighth Easter and I can’t think of a single year where it was particularly easy for us. And when I was at PJP Nifong at 4 am on Saturday, I really tried to think about why this particular holiday weekend is more difficult than others. Simply, I think it is because there is such an emphasis on cream pies, which are notoriously time consuming to create.

So let’s figure it out:

  1. We left Saturday orders open for longer than any other time in PJP Easter history. That helped ensure that we accommodated as many people as possible, but it created MASSIVE baking schedules on Friday and Saturday.

  2. And as our week progressed, Jeanne started to feel worse and worse. Her left foot started to blister and swell, finally landing her in the ER on Saturday morning. Because we are going to be short staffed for the rest of my life, I was stuck on the fruit table at Nifong while she took herself to the hospital. Not ideal, but I literally didn’t know of any alternative since our whole family was working at both stores. And then when they decided to admit her to the hospital and we were still working on the baking schedule, my anxiety just worsened.

  3. But we all worked hard as a team and then Travis stopped by on his weekend home from Dallas, surveyed the chaos at Nifong, looked at me…and immediately went to put on an apron and help. I love that kid.

  4. So we finally got out of the PJPs by early afternoon and immediately went to the hospital to find Jeanne with a diagnosis of cellulitis in her foot. Which is ridiculous, since she just had cellulitis in her face a month ago. And now she’s home finally, but is getting another blister on her foot and I’m just at a loss, so let’s all send vibes that the antibiotic does it’s job as soon as possible.

  5. Thankfully, Team PJP held down the forts on Saturday afternoon while we were exceptionally busy. And today, we were all back at it (well, except Jeanne obviously). Jason and I have vowed to figure out why Easter is an uphill battle so that next year, we are prepared with a full staff and 100 quarts of heavy whipping cream…