Bob & June's Adventures

 LAST BLOG POST ... We're home! 

In case you missed it, we decided to end out position in Yellowstone a bit early and head South. We stopped in CO to visit our granddaughter, Evie (and her parents) for a few days and then booked it home. AND ... we are VERY happy to be home. We don't regret our decision and certainly don't regret our Yellowstone Adventure, but it's good to be home. 

This was our last day of work - we pulled in the parking lot and this guy was hanging out on 2nd base on the softball field next to our parking lot. We will  miss scenes like this for sure!

After our last day of work we sat by Yellowstone River enjoying a beautiful sunny evening, a beer and active beavers cruising up and down the river and we reminisced about our month in Yellowstone - SO many memories and so much beauty!

Our drive home took us through the Tetons - again, SO much beauty!

We had a brief visit and made a few memories with this precious little girl. 

And even though it was 30+ degrees warmer than we had experienced for the past two months of travel, this was a WELCOMED sight! 

Between last summer and this summer's seasonal work, Bob and I have had a number of conversations about the value of working in a service industry job. In fact, we agreed that EVERYONE should do it. I have been pondering ... and thought I'd take this opportunity to share what I learned from my experience as a retail stocker at the Fishing Bridge General Store in Yellowstone this summer. 

First, I need to share a bit of history from other jobs I've worked:

    My first job at the ripe old age of 16 was doing evening custodial work at an insurance office. What did I learn? When I'm in a restroom and miss I miss the garbage can with my paper towel, I learned to go back and pick it up --- because someone has to!

    My next job was as a food line server at a buffet restaurant. What did I learn? I learned to clean up my own salad dressing spills and not be picky about the food I might request someone put on my plate. 

    I later progressed to a waitress job while in college and I learned how to leave good tips. I also learned to not be "that person" that asked for all kinds of special requests for their food/service, especially when the server looks slammed.

    I've worked many other service type jobs since then, but I'll save you having to read about all of them. What did I learn this summer hanging up t-shirts and sweatshirts and making sure all 80 skews were full and neatly organized? I learned that when I've walked around a store with an item in my hand that I'm intending to purchase and I change my mind, I'll return it to where I found it rather than randomly hanging or placing it where ever it's convenient for me and when I grab a Medium size shirt and then decide I need a Large, I'll return that Medium where I found it, so the stocker doesn't need to constantly reorder the sizes to keep it neat.

Isn't it crazy how we ALL need to walk in other's shoes for awhile to keep us from acting out of selfishness? 

I also often thought about this statement my brother-in-law once shared in his sermon on servanthood. He said, "We don't really know whether we really have a servant's heart, until someone treats us like one".  Hmmmm ...

Well ... there's June's thoughts for today. :)  

Thanks so much for taking the time to follow us on our summer adventure. Below is the north entrance to Yellowstone - I love the quote. Please, if you ever have a chance to visit - DO IT!

Heading for home