New Beginnings

A friend of mine and her husband have bought a small restaurant. I went there this morning for breakfast taking my son and two of his friends who had slept over the night before. When I walked in the door, a couple, who were my parents' best friends and who are still close to my mother, were sitting at the first table. I hadn't seen them for a while so it was great getting caught up with them. They are regulars at this place and told me that on the first day that my friends took ownership of the restaurant, my friend was so nervous and anxious, her hands were shaking.

I think she is still nervous, but excited over this new endeavor. Her husband has lost his job a number of times in the last few years. He has always loved cooking. It was his idea to buy the restaurant - said that he wouldn't get laid off and it would be up to him to fail or succeed. It's a very small place, almost like a diner, open from 5:30 am to 2:30 pm. I had never been there before, but had driven by it many times on the way to somewhere else. There are always cars parked anywhere possible so I knew it was a busy place. We were able to get a table when we got there but I heard that before we were there, you had to wait to get a table, and shortly after we got there, there was a line of people waiting.

Today was the first day that their son, my son's friend since first grade, was working at the restaurant as a bus boy. He was so proud and happy that his friends came to see him on his first day at work. He took a break and had lunch with us while we ate our breakfast. The boys had been at a middle school dance the night before. They talked about the girls they danced with and the sports they were playing. I watched their faces, noticing the changes that have started to come more quickly now as they move thru puberty. The bus boy who had always been a somewhat heavy boy, has lost weight, is taller than his mom and his face is thinner now taking on more of a man's face than a apple-cheeked boy. My son is almost as tall as me. The four of them have been close friends since first grade. There would have been five of them, but one was sick this weekend and missed the dance and the sleepover.