Tuesday, November 14, 2017

I Can Do This!

Well, quite the development today, a good one, I'm glad to report. Here at the Y.M.C.A. the director of Residential Housing oversees a Thanksgiving meal for the residents. Last Monday, Ashley asked if I wanted to help with the preparation of the meal. I said that yes, I did.

Fast forward to today. Five minutes before the start time and only two of seven people showed up. Namely, myself and a guy named Jeff. Jeff did two batches of instant mashed potatoes and then took off, never to return. So, forty-five minutes into it, I was responsible for feeding something like 70 to 80 people.

Ashley had already put a turkey in the oven, and it came out really well. But from 1:45 until
6:30, I was pretty much on my own. I had to do my second batch of stuffing. I had to open twelve cans of corn and heat it all up. I did dishes. I cleaned as I went along. I followed best practices for sanitation and safety. I heated sweet potatoes that had already been cooked.

I opened and heated eight cans of gravy. I kept an eye on two batches of cooked turkey that needed to be reheated in the oven. I buttered the dinner rolls and heated them. I made sure that gluten free foods had no contact with other foods that do have gluten in them.

When we realized we had one less can of Sterno than we needed to keep the food at serving temperature, I dealt with that by putting the corn and the gravy in two smaller pans. Problem solved.

I am proud to be able to say that dinner was served on time. I did all the dishes. I checked and rechecked what needed to be replenished on the serving line. I checked and rechecked to make sure food was hot enough. I wiped down serving tables. We never had any one have to wait for food.

The only thing we ran out of was stuffing, but only after the very last two people were served.

For eighteen months I have had person after person tell me that this is the sort of thing I'm not capable of pulling off. I'm too old, they say. My skill set isn't good enough. they say. I fold under pressure (which is so not true), they say. My leadership skills are weak, they say.

Wrong on all counts, people.  Today I got the job done, in style. I took charge of the situation but never hesitated once to ask for help when I needed it. I asked for a second opinion several times, just to make sure things went right.  Every time someone did make a recommendation, it was a good one and I went along with it.

From 1 o'clock until 4:45, I took one break that lasted five minutes. From 4:45 to 4:55, I ate. From 4:55 to 5:15, I worked. I then had a full half hour to rest, and starting at 5:45, I spent the last forty-five minutes working. We had a lot of food left over, which was put in the large refrigerator in the lounge. We were still putting food away even as some guys who hadn't had any yet were making up plates for themselves.

I did a good enough job that Alicia (whom I respect a great deal and like a lot) and Ashley (same on both counts) asked me to supervise the Christmas dinner on the 21st of December.

I agreed to do so, of course.

Today's event was a challenge, one I met. I had a great time and had more people than I could keep track of thank me.

I can do this, as a career. That's not an empty claim, people. Today, as I have before, I proved it.








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