This week - Thanksgiving week - is crazy for me. I hosted a big group for dinner at my house from Washington County Hospital on Monday night and then my family on Thursday also at my house. You know, I like to do these things - I really do - but it sure makes me appreciate the moms and grandmas and hosts out there who do this day in and day out. It’s a lot of work.
I wonder sometimes though if I worry too much. I want things to be up to my “standards” - meaning the right foods, right temperature, the right environment … dishes, glasses, napkins, music. (I exhaust me.) We talk standards all the time at ISH, and although I know it’s easy to relax them and be more lenient - once the bar is lowered … it’s very hard to bring back up. Could I use a frozen Stouffer’s lasagna as opposed to making it from scratch? Could I use paper napkins? Could I use paper plates and disposables? “Not in this lifetime” is my unapologetic response.
The why is because it’s the right thing to do. We used to have the word “always” (it’s still in a couple of places I think) plastered on the wall throughout. Always doing what we know equates success - it’s not enough to do almost -- it’s only when we relentlessly pursue excellence in everything we do, all the time, that we will be guaranteed the outcomes we want.
It's hard. But it’s always worth the effort.
