By My very first job was as a donut girl at the Dunkin’ Donuts in Sandy Springs. The pay was below minimum wage because we earned tips. Not sure how they got away with that because there aren’t many big tips on a donut and coffee. My friend Donna and I were 15 years old and not deterred. We wanted money and there aren’t many employers who hire 15 year olds with zero experience. I have no idea why my twin Sarah didn’t join us. Probably because she’s smarter than me. We couldn’t drive, so our parents would have to drive us to and from work. I have no idea how or why they agreed to this. And I don’t how we agreed to this because the shifts were usually early in the morning on Saturday and Sundays. My guess is we were desperate to earn money of our own and taste some independence.
The first couple of weeks I lost weight because I couldn’t stand the olfactory overload of coffee, sugar and fried smells. I soon grew some tolerance. Then like pavlov’s dog, just opening the door and taking a whiff of the donut air could trigger drool. There was an employee discount on donuts, which caused my entire family to put on weight while I worked there…including the dog. I would come home from work in my uniform, covered in sugar. Black Bear, our black Labrador mix, would snort up one leg and down the other. He looked like a cocaine addict, with white powdered sugar all over his nose. Plus he’d get a sugar buzz and become exceptionally hyper. Donna and I became masters of making coffee and boxing up donuts for hungry customers.
Recently my church newsletter ‘sermon’ was ‘Remember the donut’. The word triggered memories of working at this first job – standing on my feet all day; laughing uncontrollably with my friends like only teenagers can do; screwing up a batch of creme filled donuts because I increased the filling amount on the machine (they had to throw them all out – my first introduction to quality control…more full donuts means the next time when they’re filled to the normal amount, the customer feels ripped off).
Remember the donut is an expression that I especially needed to read and heed. I was feeling a little bit down after joining eharmony. All I could see was what I didn’t have (a partner in my life). Remember the donut is about concentrating on the donut (what you have) and not focusing on the hole. Remembering the donut is a nice way to change the focus. And it is so simple to understand. If you handed someone a donut today, there’s no way they would kvetch about the hole in the middle. They’d be focused on the chocolate frosting or the sprinkles or the bacon (yes in those artsy donuts shops you can get a maple donut with a slice of bacon thrown on top). Count your blessings!
So today’s gratitude challenge is to be grateful for the donut – you can take this literally and think about all the donut flavors/toppings that you enjoy or you can simply try for today (and hopefully tomorrow and next day) to remember the donut and not the hole.
FYI – The donut shop is still there on the same corner. It has been remodeled but for the most part hasn’t changed, which is very rare for anything in Sandy Springs.
