Rare Departure

So yesterday, I took a rare departure from my regular routine and I did NOT go to PJP Nifong. In general, I maintain a strict six-day-a-week schedule…primarily because I’m a nightmare and have a number of psychological issues that make it easier just to go there six days a week than not go. I’m not painting a very charming picture of myself or of entrepreneurship, am I? (In short, I worry that not going six days a week makes me lazy and gives the perception I don’t care about my store. I told you: NIGHTMARE.)

But I’ll be the first to admit that the collateral damage of trying to keep PJP open and operating without closing at all during the pandemic, plus the slow climb into our busiest season has made me a little strung out. Sprinkle in the announcement that my kids will start school online next week and I felt like dropping my shop keys off at Jeanne’s and driving very far away. Of course, there is nowhere to go. Apparently, COVID is even ruining daydreams.

But the overwhelm was slowly getting to me and I needed a day for a little perspective. I worked at our kitchen table and plowed through a million emails and a long to-do list. I sat down for a hot minute and just really thought about the upcoming months at PJP. I wouldn’t say that I discovered any answers about how to be zen in a pandemic, nor was I able to ensure my oldest kid that taking trigonometry on Zoom would ‘FINE’, but I did put some thought into it. (And he isn’t reading this, so let’s be honest. Trigonometry sounds like a dumpster fire of an idea even if he lived in the same house as the trigonometry teacher. I am so happy that it wasn’t recommended for acceptance to a four-year college when I was in high school or I would have just thrown my protractor out the window and headed to the nearest two-year institution I could find.)

And then today I went back to PJP Nifong. I didn’t necessarily feel any pep in my step, but I didn’t want to start crying when I realized that I needed to make more buckets of pie dough…so there’s that. And I took my plan of action for September and started in, mainly by turning in our t-shirt order for the matriarchy PJP shirts. And Emma made an enormous round of Southwestern Chicken Pot Pie for the front freezer, which has been on our planning board for quite some time. So, in short, I think I was a better person today. And Jeanne was right. Don’t tell her.

I doubt another work from home day happens until 2021, but if it does, I’m not discussing trigonometry.