The Manager Called

Becky is a total foodie. She's been our personal chef for a number of years now, and does a better job than I do most times. Her best friend is also a foodie. They love going out to eat, trying new foods, cooking together, and eating more than teen boys could even fathom putting away. (Don't you love the metabolism of teens? Don't you wish you still had it?) For Christmas, Becky and her best friend got each other food baskets for gifts. It was the best gifts they ever got. Ever.

For her birthday this year, Becky asked to go to a grocery store. Not just any grocery, mind you, but the Big One. Remembering that we are from Nowheresville, and our largest store is Super Walmart, it doesn't take much to impress us. But this grocery really is big. Sam and I were in it once and nearly died from overwhelming awesomeness. The cheese section is as large as our entire produce section at Super Walmart. The meat department has everything one can imagine. The spice aisle is just that - an entire aisle, lined both sides with nothing but spices. (I didn't know that many spices existed.) There is a mock kitchen set up for cooking demonstrations. The place is just plain fun if you like food. Which we do.

So we told Becky that we'd take her to this super overwhelmingly awesome grocery store in the big city for her birthday. And we'd take her best friend, too, because she's like a daughter to us here and the girls are nearly inseparable anyway. The kids don't have school in honor of President's Day and I suggested we go a few weeks in advance of Becky's birthday because a weekday is going to be way less crowded at the grocery than a weekend would be. Who wants to fight crowds? Not me, that's for sure.

So it was settled. We were taking Becky and her faux sister to a grocery store on Monday as an early birthday gift. She was so excited. (It doesn't take much to make our kids happy.)

And then Becky got a phone call Sunday afternoon. She recently was hired at McDonald's (there's a few stories to tell, but I probably shouldn't go there) and her new manager told her to report to work on Monday at 12 noon for her first shift. Because 12 noon wouldn't allow us to get to the city and back either before or after work hours.

Life is full of disappointments, and while this is easily remedied by choosing another day to make a road trip, it's just a little cruel to have your first shift at your first real job interfere with pre-made plans. Poor kiddo. Turning 17 will apparently be teaching her all sorts of fun life lessons.