You can listen to this week’s Devotional here
Author: Nancy Wade
Have you ever wanted something so badly it permeates your every waking second? Like a melody you can’t get out of your head, the wanting loops endlessly in your mind and its beat mimics that of your own heart. Wanting of this kind is usually strongest for those things that are partially, or completely, outside of our control.
Clinical Psychologist and Author Rebecca Ray
I’m a little embarrassed to admit this, but for the past year or so, I have been yearning to go to the iconic Denver restaurant, Casa Bonita. In fact, it has become a bit of an obsession. On a scale of importance, I admit this is close to the bottom, maybe a 2 out of 10.
If you are a native of Colorado – and especially of the Denver metro area – you probably grew up hearing about this restaurant. Famous for its kitschy atmosphere, its cliff divers, its puppet shows, its winding labyrinthian pathways, and its sopapillas, Casa Bonita originally opened in Lakewood in 1973.
I remember taking my kids there in the mid-1980’s and the many ways in which it both attracted and repelled me. The garish decorations and gimmicky Mexican theme made the place seem like the tourist trap it was. The fact that the food was substandard – even worse than a cheap TV dinner – didn’t help. Even then, the prices were exorbitant and it was a stretch on our budget to go there even a few times a year.
But our kids loved it and because of that, we loved it too. It was a place and time when you could turn your kids loose to explore the place without worrying that they would wander off or fall prey to a kidnapper. The awful food was part of the experience and the sopapillas – you could get as many as you wanted – came close to redeeming the evening.
You probably know that about a year ago, the creators of the South Park cartoon – Trey Parker and Matt Stone – rescued Casa Bonita from foreclosure, buying it for $3.1 million and then sinking $40 million into its renovation. The Denver press began to hype the restaurant’s re-opening. It was difficult not to get caught up in the excitement.
For whatever reason – call it sentimentality or a strong desire to create memories for my kids and grandkids – over a year ago, I signed up to receive invitation emails from Casa Bonita. Although I wasn’t sure if doing this would result in a reservation, I decided, “Can’t hurt, might help.”
Whomever is advising the restaurant’s management on how to create real buzz about the place has succeeded beyond everyone’s collective imagination. I read recently that between 400,000 and 600,000 individuals have signed up to receive instructions on how to book reservations. And about a month ago, they opened the system up in a controlled way by letting thousands of us know that we were now members of the Founders Club and we would have access to the reservation system before the general public would. And I, like thousands of others, fell for this plan hook, line, and sinker.
Always a rule follower, I studied the informational emails as if I were studying for a final exam. I set my alarm to make sure I was awake in time to sign on at 8:00 a.m. so that I would be among the first in line when the reservations opened at 9:00. The directions told me to have my credit card ready and that I would only have 12 minutes to secure my reservation.
The pressure was on.
At 8:00 a.m., I logged on to my Founders Club account. I drank a cup of coffee, paced around, and waited for an hour to pass. At 9:00 a.m., the screen on my laptop told me that I was “now in line,” and that the number of users ahead of me was 10,035. Oh – and my wait time was estimated to be more than an hour.
I watched the screen until shortly before 11:00 a.m., when a message flashed:
The Queue Has Ended. Thank you for your patience, but unfortunately all current reservations have been taken.
Rebecca Ray, the author quoted above, finishes with this advice. I think I will take it to heart.
The fact is: If you’ve done all you can, settle in. Say hello to Patience. Shake hands with Faith. Keep living with vitality. Stay close to your other values. Do this until such time as you welcome what you want into your life . . . or until your intuition knocks at the door with a suggestion that it’s time to recalibrate your compass.