For the last three years, I have spent Mother’s Day as a
food server in a corporate owned chain steakhouse. Mother’s Day was, and I’m sure
will forever continue to be, the busiest day of the year. This day is the ultimate test
of true strength in any position at a restaurant. This is what Valentine’s Day
weekend prepared you for. The air of the kitchen is heavy with tension as soda
cases are changed, appetizers are burning, and overloaded trays of buttered
potatoes are melting. There are more elbows and hips to bump than usual as
holidays are over staffed in both the kitchen and dining room to “better serve
the needs to the guests.”* Even the best of the best would find it difficult to
exercise self-restraint with an unruly table or a selfish coworker.
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2013 was my first Mother’s Day as a food server. I hadn’t
the slightest idea of what to expect. I don’t remember much of the shift or the
days leading up to it, but I do remember how my night ended.
