My Free Lunch & What It Taught Me

By Melissa - Tuesday, September 20, 2016



My colleague, Z was hankering for pasta and like the incredibly giving person that I am (missed out on taking my humble pill today), I acquiesced to her craving. The both of us set out by foot to the venue, chatting the whole way. The place was packed, but we were ushered to a table almost immediately. We sat down, the waitress took our order and the minute her back was turned, the slew of stories continued to flow freely.

If not for our rumbling tummies, I wouldn’t have realised that 45 minutes has passed. We flagged the same waitress and inquired about lunch. A little while later, she returned, only to inform us that our order was mistakenly delivered to another table. To add salt to the wound, it was also the last portion for the pasta of the day.

The manager hurried by to smooth things over and conveyed his apologies. The three of us had a good laugh about it; no tantrums, no death stares or God forbid, no raised voices.

Our food arrived shortly after and we chowed it down in record time, ravenous after the rather long wait.

Then, dessert showed up. It was creme brûlée. It wasn't what we ordered. Turns out, they ran out of apple crumble. By this time, the manager was deeply sorry about the day’s bummer. We merely shrugged our shoulders and chuckled about it not being our day.

When I went up to the counter for payment, the manager smiled, apologised again and said lunch was on the house.

Today, I learned - No matter what the circumstance, our response determines our future.

My free lunch taught me to choose joy, and keep choosing it.
My free lunch taught me to stress a little less, and laugh a lot more.
My free lunch taught me to remember that good can and will come, even in bad situations.

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