Christmas from the other side of the tracks

What a terrific night I've had. I'm just home from my works Christmas night out, and I've been inspired to blog. Before I start, let me say this is not like me at all. I don't usually pour out my thoughts and feelings like this. But, wine has been drunk, fun has been had, and my thoughts and feelings are bursting to get out.

I've had a great night out. It's been your standard works Christmas party. Dinner. Dancing. Fun had by all. But it's touched me in a way I'm finding hard to describe.

For the last...oh, many many years, I have worked in various clubs and restaurants over Christmas. I've been the anonymous waitress who's served your drinks, handed you your turkey dinner, and cleared the tables after you. I'm the one who has set up the venue with all its glitter and decorations, laid the tables with cutlery and crackers, tended to your every need. I've picked up broken glass from the dancefloor so you didn't cut yourself. I've mopped up your spilled drinks. I've gien you safety pins for your dress that burst. I've gathered up your coats and scarfs at the end of the night. I've called your taxi. I've looked for your girlfriend who was being ill in the toilets. And I might have even shown you the door after you had one too many. I've cleared away your dirty glasses. I've wiped down the tables and swept the floor, and set up all over again for the next night.

But tonight. Tonight I got to be the one who sat at the table and was served. An anonymous waitress gave me my dinner. Someone cleared our plates away. I was handed my coat at the end of the night with a smile. And it felt odd. Good, but odd.

It only really hit me when I was on the dancefloor, and the song "Let me entertain you" by Robbie Williams came on. This song was the intro to the start of the comedy in Jongleurs, one of the clubs I worked in for several years. I cannot hear this song but I remember the exact point the dj Jay would introduce that night's act. Listening to the song tonight, I realised that I didn't have to run to a schedule. I didn't have to look out for the needs of my customers. I didn't have to do anything. I could just relax. Enjoy the music. Dance. Have fun.

Tonight I learnt how everyone else spends these sorts of nights. And it felt good :o)