I did not realize, at the time, I was learning what turned out to be some of my biggest life lessons. Food service is full of life lessons. I think it is because there is so much happening so quickly you have to learn to become very fluid.
I wrote earlier about working for Chef Charlie Trotter and his famous phrase “Make it Happen”. We would have something unexpected come up, and he would push us to come up with a new solution and not look back. I was also a regional manager of 6 bakery-cafes in the financial district in San Francisco during the dot-com era. There is always something unexpected coming up in that environment: someone is sick, a delivery did not get made, equipment breaks, a customer wants a huge last minute order…. I was always trained to have a plan B in my back pocket. I joked with my boss that some days I went through the whole alphabet and was on plan Y or Z. It was stressful but also fun. What I gained from that experience is one of the best life lessons I have ever learned. No matter what comes up, I can adjust and make it. I will be OK and maybe even better. I have tried hard to teach this attitude to my sons, to give them ease and confidence.
I was thinking today about how aggressive the phrase “Make it Happen” is. Sometimes its time to go toe to toe, but not always. Maybe more important is what comes from knowing you can make it happen. I think the next stage is realizing “Know you can adjust”. That’s a pretty cool thing to get down.
This is a lesson I am drawing on hard right now with my experience with cancer. Last week I had what may be my last chemo treatment. However a few days earlier I had a CT scan which showed new growth in my throat wrapping my airway again. There should be no further growth once you start chemo. I am supposed to be done with chemo. I have had 6 rounds. This is a sneaky cancer.
I am scheduled to be admitted to the hospital to begin stem cell transplant on August 30 using my own harvested stem cells. However, if I am not in complete remission, this will not happen. We are giving the chemo I just completed a couple of weeks to work. Then on the 27th of August, I will get another scan. If it still shows cancer, I will get another round of chemo using different drugs. One of them is related to mustard gas like they used in WWI. Mustard gas right into my veins, yikes. At that point, I will be admitted for my transplant. If I have been able to go into remission, I will get to use my own stem cells. Using my cells is highly preferable. If I still have some residual cancer, I will use a donor. The donor will be my brother Chuck. I love Chuck and we have always been there for each other. So still lots of options, I am just not sure yet which plan I will be using. But its OK because I have a whole pocketful of methods which I know will work out.
Exercises in Equanimity 