October flew by!

October has gone and November has come!

We've been through so many changes during October I just didn't have time to blog!
Firstly I went on leave and moved house - Maritzi took care of the shop while I was gone. And while I went on leave and moved house, The owners of Victoria Eatery came and gave the shop a big internal operation (electicity wiring, plumbing etc) and a little bit of a face lift while they were at it.

We closed shop for 4 days and gutted the kitchen to redo it again - and I must say it works like a dream, I never could imagine that this little kitchen could have so much space!

October has been a month of ups and downs for everyone here.
Maritzi worked her last day here on the 29'th of October - she left for greener pastures in another town. Though I miss her already, I wish her only the best for the future - may she find happiness and peace.

There was one week in the middle of the month in which it felt like we were surrounded by the end of the life cycle!
At first two new customers came in for lunch and as we started talking, they told me that they just came from the hospital, the one woman's husband had a stroke two day's before and the whole family came to town to support her (and they discovered Victoria Eatery to cure the hunger pangs). Then the next day; one of my regular customers came in looking a bit off colour and after enquiring about her wellbeing, she told me that her life partner was in hospital and that she just left him with his children to say goodbye - he was dying of cancer (they're apparently not very fond of her and she said goodbye to him just before they arrived). I sat with her for a while trying to comfort her in her sadness - even just to offer a shoulder and another body and breath close by in her time of intense mourning. The next day she came back to inform me that he passed away while she was having her coffee in Victoria Eatery.
The following day a couple (man and wife) came in with a little girl, they were also new faces and after enquiring whether they were on holiday, they informed me that they were in town because the gentleman's father passed away the previous day - I doubt that they and my regular customer were related to the same person passing.
I've written before about being part of people's lives in this shop and I just realised yet again this past month that life is a cycle that include births as well as death, joy as well as pain. The privilege to share in these moments with relative strangers is so much more than I first thought -  this privilege is coupled with a responsibility towards the people sharing their lives with me and will only continue if I treat everyone walking into this shop with the same respect, and love that I would treat a friend. I feel honored that these people would share their happiest and saddest moments with me, may they always find a safe haven in Victoria Eatery - a place to celebrate and a place to find comfort when life/living deals the hard blows.