To say this week was hard is... I don't even know...
It was hard to pick myself up off the floor, dust off my broken heart, dry my tears, and drag myself to work.
It was hard to put on a brave face and smile for my team, our vendors, and our guests.
It was hard to stare into the face of our porter/dishwasher, knowing that over half of America wants him deported, yet none of them would be willing or able to do his extremely hard job.
It was hard to bite my lip when wealthy pearl clutching Cambridge Ladies expressed their utter shock and disbelief while sitting in their privileged liberal bubble, sipping pinot noir, blaming the wrong sources.
It was hard to listen to people complain about the tiniest, dumbest, most trivial things when it felt like the whole world was burning.
It was hard to dress myself up and go to an awards show full of wealthy socialites and social media influencers and meet their eyes with compassion, kindness and as much joy as I could muster.
It was hard not to wonder who in the room voted for him and not her. It was hard not to indulge myself in hatred and disgust, in nihilistic ideations of walling my heart off to all those who voted with their pockets instead of their souls, shutting them all out, hiding myself up in a tower and watching them all burn it to the ground.
It was hard to pretend that in the face of such a clear, horrific display of American greed and selfishness... it was hard to pretend that any part of this job I do every day mattered... until I remembered that wait... it does matter.
Human connection matters. Compassion matters. Kindness matters. Common ground matters. Community matters. Joy matters. Nourishment matters.
This work seems trivial, until you realize it's more than just food and drinks. Every day we walk into that restaurant my team and I make a choice to create a space that fosters human connection and nourishes bodies and souls.
Every day that I choose to share my heart and joy with others is an act of resistance, of rebellion, of radical love.
This week was hard... the road ahead is hard... the hard work begins now... but in this industry, we know how to do hard work.
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