Where have all of the Sunday dinner’s gone? There was a time, not that long ago, when Sunday dinner preparation began early in the week with shopping for fresh collard greens or cabbage, sweet Vidalia onions, plump red tomatoes and fresh meat from the butcher, never frozen.
When my children were young, I would begin cooking Sunday dinner on Saturday evening. I enjoyed the preparation and took pride in every dish. My children loved coming into the kitchen to eye me putting the finishing touches on the macaroni and cheese, but what they were really waiting for was for me to take the cake or pie out of the oven. They preferred cake, because that meant that they got to lick the spoon from the batter and the bowl from the frosting.
When I was a little girl, my mother would make miniature desserts from the left over batter for me to have on Saturday evenings. This was my special treat for not running and jumping while her cakes were in the oven. For those of you unfamiliar with the protocols of baking, heavy footsteps or jumping in the kitchen can cause a cake to “fall,” which makes it dense and heavy, opposed to light and fluffy.
As I think about the love and time that it took to cook a big Sunday dinner, I am reminded of the self-love and patience it takes to develop one’s career. Career development is not something that can be tossed in the microwave and served up like it’s a gourmet meal. It takes planning, researching, proper preparation, and patience. You can jump up and down all you want and run circles in the office, but the at won’t progress your career.
My advice to anyone wanting to advance their career is to first assess the job you want and see if the job skills are a match with the skills you have. In many cases, you will need to acquire additional skills and knowledge. Talk to people in that position or your supervisor, and ask for their help or advice in gaining those skills. Also, do your own research of the skills, certifications, degrees and experience that is required for the job you want.
Take the steps needed to put yourself on the right path. This will undoubtedly require patience, confidence and self-love. There will be many Saturday evenings when you don’t feel like putting in the extra effort. But, if you do, I promise you that when you reach your career goals, it will be just like Sunday dinner – totally fulfilling and satisfying.
