One summer in the early 1970’s, I worked a number of odd jobs…most of which were for various parents of my high school buddies. And for the most part, they were labor intensive types of work — stocking shelves, installing white goods (refrigerators/air-conditioners/dryers), delivery jobs and the like. But the thing I enjoyed the most was to have had the opportunity to “talk business” with these business owners. To be sure, nothing to deep (after all, I was in my teens), but I enjoyed hearing how they got started, what drove them to their lines of work, and occasionally they would provide a bit of philosophical acuity and pass on some of their business acumen that they achieved over the years.
There were certainly the obvious bits of advice about; “always showing up on time”, “put in a full day of work”, “treat people with respect” … all good things to be sure. And then there were the more obscure tenets they passed on like; “leave the place better than you found it”, “make sure you sleep well, so you can wake up refreshed for a job you enjoy”, “don’t ask someone to do something you wouldn’t do yourself”…all things we have likely heard over time as we have grown up.
And the one that I think about right now is from Kevin’s dad, who believed that everyone should get 2 weeks’ vacation. Everyone…regardless of level of employment. But, he said, “They have to take the two weeks together.” He believed that with one week away from the job, you weren’t done enjoying your time off, and, you weren’t ready to come back to work. But after two weeks…you couldn’t wait to get back to work.
To be sure, this blog isn’t about vacations; rather, it is about time away…and wanting to come back.
Back in March, many of us thought that COVID19 was going to be a “two weeks” kind of thing. Clearly, it turned very quickly into something significantly longer. And to be sure, same is true for us here at The ClayGround.
At first, we suspended classes for two weeks, then four. Then we made the decision to renovate. So, we hired an architect and are in the process of putting plans together for a renovation of the building — somethings to make it more efficient in work flow, spatially attractive, physically more enjoyable and mindfully and artfully inspiring. And we are very excited about all the things to come…not just for us, but even more so, for us to share with our staff, customers, and community. To be sure, modifying one of the tenets from above…we’ll be making the place better than we found it.
But it will take time…a bit longer than a two-week vacation and always longer than we hoped. Keep checking in with us as to status and be assured that when we do reopen, we’ll be rejuvenated and very excited to be back to work and seeing you again.
I can’t wait.
Michael