Unique Serving Platter

It is amazing how words of wisdom spoken early in childhood can impact your life years later. My paternal grandmother came to the United States with her family from Germany when she was four years old. She married another German immigrant and they raised ten children. They farmed and my grandfather was a cobbler. He died when I was two years old, but grandma lived until I was sixteen. Shortly before she died she attended my sixteenth birthday party. During the party I was excited because I was able to start working. My older siblings were telling me that once I started working I would no longer be excited. Grandmother stated that you should always have a job that makes you happy. If you are not happy in your work you are not happy in the rest of your life.

When I first started my career as a social worker I was happy in my work. But through the years there have been so many cut backs and rule changes that is has no longer been fun. I started considering other things I could do for a living. My mother mentioned to me that I loved working with children and with food. I should look into catering children’s events. She added that this was something grandma would have approved of. I began looking into catering in our area and found that there was a need. I thought I could have a general business and advertise that I specialize in kids birthday parties.

I got a break the first week I opened. Friends of mine were having a sweet sixteen birthday bash for their only daughter. They have a big yard that lead to a nice swimming area on the lake. Her birthday was in the summer but she did not want anything barbequed. They hired me to cater the party, I think mainly because their daughter is so difficult to work with that they did not want to be involved. She met with me and told me what she wanted. I thought it was quite extravagant for a kids birthday party, but the parents gave the go ahead. She wanted shrimp cocktails followed by finger sandwiches and several salads. She also wanted a whip cream cake.

The day went very well and all the menu items turned out perfectly, especially the cake. This was a huge break for me because all the other girls in the area wanted me to cater for them. It was not quite the kids birthday parties I had in mind when I started, but they paid very well. Here and there I do younger kids birthday parties, but now that I have been in the business a while I am starting to cater the weddings of the girls whose sixteenth birthday parties I planned years ago. I love the work that is mine to do. I know grandma would be pleased.

There are many different things you can do for someone when a special occasion arises. We often send flowers and gift baskets, and we may send emails and notes when something goes wrong and we suspect that someone needs comfort. No matter how fancy online cards become or how elaborate a basket might be, there is nothing that will take the place of a perfect greeting card. Many feel the pressure to find the perfect card, especially when the occasion is sad, but it is not that hard. You just have to take your time and the right card will come to you.

I use to stress out about finding the right greeting card, but I found a way that always works. I don’t stress about it, but instead, I make sure I have some time to stand in the aisle. If you are in a hurry, you aren’t going to find what you need. You have to walk around the aisle and look at anything that catches your eye. When you find one, you pick it up and keep looking. You look until you have at least three greeting cards in your hands that work. Then you choose one of them to send, but you may want to buy all three so that you have some good ones at home when something pops up again in the future.

There is something special about a greeting card that nothing else can touch. If you find the right one in the store, you will know it. You can send someone an e-card, but no matter how good or how cute they are, they are just not the same. I have saved almost every greeting card that I have ever gotten, as I know that people aren’t always going to be around. They are lasting reminders of the relationships in your life and there may be no better way to remember how much someone loved you and how much they meant to you.

The best thing about the greeting card is that you can find them for almost any situation you can think of and for some that you may have never thought of before. Even better, you don’t really need a reason to send one, you just have to be thinking of someone when you see the right one on the shelf. While it is great to get a good greeting card for a special occasion, it is even better when you get one that comes out of nowhere. When someone sends you a card just because they are thinking about you, you feel good inside. Remember that feeling and remember to return the favor.