We’ve had an awesome weather day around
here, but I didn’t get to enjoy much of it; since Michael and I put in a lot of
time at the Inn today. I’m not going to
write about that tonight, though; since I really want to do an update about
Rebecca and Jenny. I’m way overdue for
that; and I should write about what’s going on in the lives of the people I
care most about more often.
Rebecca, Lucas, and Jenny are getting ready
to head off to college, and while they’ll be staying in residential halls;
there is still a lot for them to get done between now and when they need to
head off on their collegiate adventures.
I haven’t written about any of the things they’ve been doing; since I’m
out of the loop for most of it; but I do hear about everything – and have done
my part for one fairly-large part of their plans for the next four years. College is part of that; but the more important
plans for them – and for our town – are all about the pizzeria they want to own
and run.
I’ll start with that; since their plans
have come a long way since my last update about it. They’re going to have lots of help for it
beginning this fall, but Aunt Leanne has a store by the river that they’ll be
leasing – and that will be worked on through the winter to get it ready for
them to open in time for the Memorial Day weekend next year. They’re going with a take-out pizzeria, but
will have tables and chairs on a patio by the river that we’re sure will become
the teen hang-out during the spring, summer, and fall. Opening up their shop when they’ll still have
three years of college to go might sound risky, but most stores to a large
percentage of their annual business during the summer in our town; and it isn’t
really all that unusual in our area for stores to cut back on their hours in
the off-season. Sure, they’ll be open
seven days a week after college, but they’re also going to try and work it out
so that they have the pizzeria open on every weekend – even if that means
taking turns coming home for alternate weekends while keeping up with their
studies too.
That hasn’t been decided for sure yet, but
my point is that they do have a good plan; and it’s been approved by some of my
favorite Moms – including Miranda, Mom, and Aunt Leanne. Part two of the pizzeria plan will hopefully
come together soon; since Rebecca and Jenny are going to get part-time jobs
with a pizzeria somewhere near their college so that they can learn the
business – particularly the cooking great pizza part of the job. They’re a bit worried about that, but I’m
not; since they both have a lot of restaurant experience that any pizzeria
manager would love – and it doesn’t hurt that they’re young and beautiful! They do have some criteria of their own for
places they want to work, but that’ll be fun for them – and for Lucas; since it
involves trying out the pizzas in the different restaurants to find the best. Once they do that; they’ll try to get jobs
with one of those restaurants.
There’s much more to the plan, but you’d
likely just be bored if I write about the technicals or finances. Yes, our family business is involved in part
two of that, but for the record; we approved this investment exactly the same
way we would any other – based on the merits.
I can also add that they’re going to be old school for their pizzeria –
and that’s partly because the expense of the high-tech equipment wouldn’t pay
off for a long time in a small town – if it would ever be worth the cost of the
automated ovens. I plan on being very
supportive of Rebecca and Jenny’s pizzeria; so I’m glad that they’re going with
quality over quantity – and won’t mind paying a bit more to get the better
food! ;^)
Okay, let’s move on to the college side of
the plans. Rebecca and Jenny are both
taking the four-year Bachelor’s degree program for Hotel and Restaurant
Management. That’s obvious and makes
perfect sense, but I’ll add that they’re not looking to earn their Master’s
degrees too because they’ve decided that it would just be a waste of the money
and their time when they’ll have everything they need to run their little
business without going the post-grad route.
Lucas is going into a four-year course too; but he’s enrolled at Central
State in the Agricultural Engineering program.
That’ll come in handy on his family farm; and is just part of the plan
that he has with his parents and family to make sure that their farms will
continue to do well for the next generations of Nortons.
Finally, I should add that Rebecca and
Jenny’s plans are going to have a significant impact on my life; since they won’t
be working at the Inn very much anymore – if at all. They’ll need to work those part-time pizzeria
jobs whenever they’re at college; might need to spend some of their holiday
time doing that too; and will be working on setting up their pizzeria when they
are home – probably by the time they have their fall break – or Christmas at
the latest. I’m certainly not
complaining; but it will mean that Miranda and Stephanie will need Michael and
me to help out as much as we can – even once we’re into football season. Michael’s okay with that, since he wants to
earn as much money as he can for college; and it will help me too – even if
that will mostly be for appearances; since my family business job will more
than cover my college expenses.
That’s an update for another day – though I
should do that before the end of summer too; since there is a lot that we’ll be
doing to get ready for when we go to college next year. I think that’s also enough for tonight. Michael and I put in extra time at the Inn to
help his mother and father get ready for a busy weekend and the busy breakfast
and dinner shifts; I’ve spent a few hours on the family business after getting
home; and now I’m ready to head off into nap mode for a few hours before
getting up and doing it all again. I’ll
need the rest, since we have four ballgames this weekend in addition to the
work and chores; though I’ll also miss all or part of three of them because I
will be at the Inn instead.
More on that over the next few days, but
that really is it for now; so, until next time...
...May the Magi Force be with you!
