Passing the torches

So after many years of people telling me that I should, I have finally started a blog! In the last few days, I contemplated what I would talk about in this, my first blog, and decided since it is a new year with new beginnings, I would talk about some of the changes that are happening in my own family.

New Year’s Day marked the end of an era for my father. Many of you know him as the Gyro Man, the guy who owns the Greek restaurant or Bill from Swan Hose but I know him as daddy. He has always been the rock of our family and the hardest worker I have ever met, along with my mom. They both instilled a great work ethic in me and my brother which is why I know that the restaurant will continue to be a success as my brother Chris takes over the reins since dad retired at the end of the year.

My friend Lisa, during dad’s retirement dinner, jokingly asked if dad knows what retirement means, if he had read the small print that says he gets to relax now and enjoy himself. I have a feeling he did not read it and we will still be seeing him occasionally behind the counter, shaving off some gyro meat for customers.

My mom, who retired a few years ago from her job as a child support investigator after 25 years, has never stopped working, taking care of our family and helping dad with the restaurant. It is my hope that they will finally take some time for themselves. God knows they deserve it.

As I write this, my daughter is in the kitchen teaching her first Mary Kay skin care class and it seems to be going very well. I began selling Mary Kay when I was 22-years-old and my son, now 26-years-old, was just a baby. When Kiana came to me and said she wanted me to buy her the Mary Kay showcase for Christmas, I was thrilled. Whether she works hard at it and eventually earns one of the world-famous pink Cadillacs or just works her business part-time, the amount of positivity that she will receive from her director, fellow consultants, trainings and the company will be worth every penny I spent on her showcase.

I remember a Mary Kay Career Conference I attended many years ago, in the early 90’s. The trainer told us to write down the names of all the people who were currently in our lives that we spent time with or speaking with often. Then she told us to put a plus sign, minus sign or an equal sign after each person’s name, signifying the way the person made you feel while you were with them. The plus sign meant that you felt better, equal sign meant the same and the minus sign meant you felt worse when you left them. Over the years, I have done this once in a while just to see if I am surrounding myself with people who bring positivity into my life, or negativity. Sometimes I resist, because I know I need to kick some people to the curb which is not always an easy thing to do but once I do it, my life is so much better.

Since I have been on sick leave with foot surgery (yes, the never-ending foot surgery) I have gotten to catch up on television shows recorded on my DVR which include Oprah’s Life Classes. One of the classes is about the energy each of us brings into others’ lives each day. In this new year, it’s one of my goals to bring positive energy with me wherever I go, even when I am feeling down. The old adage that if you make someone smile, you will feel better too is very true.

So as my dad passes the Little Athens Greek Restaurant torch to my brother and I, sort of, pass the Mary Kay torch to my daughter, and my son pursues his college degree in Fort Lauderdale, I look to my own future. I will be working my Mary Kay business part-time to focus my energy on my full-time job as a reporter for the Mansfield News Journal and Telegraph-Forum along with my freelance writing career. I am excited for some things that are coming up and I will share those as things develop. But most importantly, I am going into this new year with a positive attitude and hope to bring some positive energy to others.

Happy New Year everyone!!