Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there.  I'm really missing mine tonight.  For a lot of reasons.  He was tirelessly thoughtful.  He was hardworking.  He looked out for the little guy. 

And he looked out for me.

But the quality that I really miss in him?  He knew how to solve a damn problem.

I'll keep it short because it's been a hell of a week.  I'm having a hard time hiring and keeping staff at my restaurant.  It feels like no matter how much money or how many perks I offer, no matter how much I try to make people feel valued, no matter how much I give of my own time: no one wants to work through discomfort anymore.  Folks have a bad day or two, and they quit. Lately, it feels like people talk about preserving their mental health as though every day needs to be fulfilling, and they don't know how to deal with difficult moments.

Not like my dad.  He looked at every hardship as an opportunity.  

Reader, working through problems teaches us conflict resolution.  Before it becomes a lost art, let's not forget that problems are a chance to grow, to come up with new ideas, to help us evolve.  As we go through our week, let's not forget: there is no such thing as a perfect set of circumstances.  We can only try to make our circumstances better through leaning into discomfort and meeting it head on with resilience and grit.  With that, this daughter of a problem solver is off to bed so I can continue to meet tomorrow's challenges.  I'll see you next week. -Em