My honey worker bee

 

I was caught off guard to hear the click of the lock being turned. Charley walked in at 5:00pm. A record time for him to be home since the opening of the restaurant. He’s put so much heart and soul into his work- everyone has in order to kick it off in grandness. I felt so blessed tonight just to catch up with him. I’ve hardly seen him for a month as he’s been at his “other home” from sun up to sun down.

He is tired, but I’ve never seen him so happy about the work he’s been doing. He’s passionate about it. It’s inspiring. I can’t imagine what it would be like to work in his environment. My little peak of it from over the metal counter leaves me wide eyed. The hiss of steam, the sweat, the stress. The noise of orders getting called, times placed, grease popping. The cooks work together as one machine- but not a brutish machine- one in tune to nuances. A drizzle on a plate. A pop of green to balance the color. A careful glance weighing a proportion. A fancy we like to call “art” rolled into efficiency. It’s renamed “craft”. Man is a craftsman.

The animals as well, just look at the beaver, the ant or the bee for instance. They happily set to their task with earnestness even though they do it from day to day. Each crafting animal has a nitch and a goal it’s working towards, perhaps with something closely resembling passion (but more likely it’s driven by survival). Charley falls into his work so bracingly that it almost seems like his premeditated purpose.

“You there, bear, go forage.”

“You there, Charley, go cook”. 

It’s hard for me to remember when Charley wasn’t a cook (yep, there was a time when he wanted to be an English teacher). It’s hard for me to remember that passions don't just come easy. You work for them. You aren’t just good at your thing, you have to work towards your craft…that’s what makes it a craft. Being efficient as a human means putting aside distractions and fighting against the body. (A body that might want to sleep, or wander or be lazy.) I’m so proud to have seen Charley be a pursuer of things. He’s always willing to learn and weighing opportunities….not to mention remaining insanely humble about the things he’s already learned. (I’m bragging, but it’s my wifely duty).

I know that I am not like my husband. I don’t have a strong will to stay on task. My passions are confused and spread thin. I lack focus and drive. That’s the great thing about Charley, is that he pushes me to focus. I love that he remains calm under pressure and always seems to know what to do. It’s easy for me to get swept under the notion that  he is excelling beyond me. That I drag him down or as if our marriage was a competition. It’s a silly thing, but it’s easy to see where you are lacking because you have an extreme comparison in front of you. We are rather opposites, but I believe we were purposely pitted together for that reason. 

In fact marriage has been the most helpful and insightful of tools for introspection in that way. It’s almost odd that someone can know themselves having not lived alongside another.

Wasn’t the title about bee's or something? I’ve gone from cooking to craft to marriage. My whole point being: I love my husband. He teaches me things and he’s a hard worker. END>