Miracles DO Happen

If you read my last post, you know that things have been a bit rough the past few months. I closed my business, and since then I've gone back to my old standby: waiting tables. It's definitely a love/hate relationship. One of the things I love is finishing each shift with cash in my hands. One of the things I hate is the misconception so many folks have about how servers make money. I could write 10,000 words on that topic, but that's another post. For the purpose of this post, what you need to know is this: Servers make $2.63 per hour. Uncle Sam usually takes all of that for tax purposes. Basically if you don't get tipped, you don't get paid. In addition, there is this nifty little thing called tip share, which means that a percentage of the tips I do get goes to other workers in the restaurant, such as the hosts, the bartenders, etc...SO...if you only give me a 10% tip, I don't even see all of that. Some nights are good; some nights are bad. Some nights, even if you're really busy, if the tips are bad (even if you weren't) you don't make much money.
There are a lot of things that can affect the amount of money you make; one of the worst is when it's just a slow night. I can control the kind of service I give a table; I can't control how many people come in the restaurant.
Last Saturday night was one of those nights I had no control over. It was slow. I, however, was really on my game. It was one of those nights where I felt like I was really connecting with the customers I did have and was actually enjoying some of the conversations I was engaging in. One of the tables I was enjoying chatting with was a table of four, made up of two couples that were probably in their 50's. I was able to joke around with them, and even talk about my favorite topic, my son. They were taking their time with their meal and enjoying a night out. When the time came for me to drop off their check, I asked if they needed me to split it up. The gentleman I'd been joking around with the most, said, "No, I get it." I dropped off the bill and moved on to check on my other customers.
What happened next is the stuff of legend. The kind of thing you see on YouTube or read about on the internet. I think I even saw a story about it on "World News Tonight."
The check was paid and as I went back by the table, the gentleman handed the payment book back to me. When I got to the computer to enter my tip and close out that table's check, what I saw almost knocked me off my feet. I literally stood there staring at the credit card slip in disbelief. After what seemed like forever, I burst into tears. My customer had left me a $100 tip, which was over 100% of what the bill was. I was blown away. My little family has been through so much, and there hasn't been an overabundance of kindness. To think that a stranger would do that for me...I still can't really get my mind around it.
When you go through tough times, especially when it's because of your own bad decisions, you really start to feel like a failure and a bad person and a worthless human being. A line from "Pretty Woman" has played over and over in my head. In it Julia Roberts is talking to Richard Gere about how she ended up being a prostitute, and she says about herself, "It's so much easier to believe the bad things." It's so true! You start to let your circumstances define you. I have definitely let mine!
Once I composed myself, I headed back over to the table to say, "Thank you!" This was definitely one of those times when words seemed completely inadequate. Of course, as I tried to find them, I ended up crying all over again and telling the table how much the tip meant and how hard things had been: the failed business, the living with in-laws. As he got up to leave the very kind gentleman said to me, "Hang in there. Keep trying. Most people are afraid to even step up to home plate."
Wow. I still get teary. And what I really what him to know (if by some chance he's reading this) is that one simple sentence meant more to me than the money ever could. Don't get me wrong, the money was wonderful and very much needed, but the validation meant even more. It was a word of affirmation from a God-sent angel!
So to everyone out there who is doubting, down-trodden, beaten...well, miracles do happen. Especially when you least expect it. Hang in there; keep swimming; and keep stepping up to the plate.
Until next time...