Everett's Journal - Meeting Lacy's Parents

Tuesday, April 13

I got to meet Lacy's parents yesterday. They're really nice people. They flew all the way from Idaho to come see her restaurant and support her dreams! I must admit to feeling a little jealous. My parents only live 2 hours away and have not even suggested that they might come check out Lovebird Café.

I get that they're busy, you know. And I know they didn't want me to become a chef. Dad was hoping I'd follow in his footsteps and take over the family business. But I'm just not cut out to be a lawyer.

I keep hoping that someday, they'll see how far I've come and be proud. But honestly, if they aren't impressed yet, that's probably an empty dream. I am the HEAD CHEF of a new, up-and-coming restaurant. I don't know how much higher I can even climb on the ladder. This is pretty dang near the top. And they still aren't impressed.

When I called to tell Mom the news after I got the job, she just said, "That's great honey," and changed the subject. When I told Dad, he just said, "I'm glad that degree wasn't a total waste of time and money."

Maybe I should just ask Lacy if I can borrow her parents. They asked to meet me when they came in. They're so nice. I can see where Lacy gets her kind, bubbly personality from. Also, she looks so much like her mom! Her dad looks more like. . . well, an older version of me, strangely enough. I'm glad I got to meet them when they came in. I kind of hope I run into them again while they're in town.

Apparently my parent issues have reached the level of "tries to borrow other people's parents and seeks parental love wherever he can find it".

On a different note, I think I might need to look into taking anger management classes again. I took them in high school and I've been doing really well since then at keeping my temper under control until just recently.

It's super weird. I wonder if it's the stress from being a head chef and having so much more responsibility. It is really stressful. I feel bad for Lacy, since she seems to be bearing the brunt of my angry outbursts. It's really not fair to her or any of my coworkers if I turn into a rage monster like I used to be. I'll probably sign up for classes again.