何日も前から出ていた大雪警報が滋賀の私のところはずっと外れて幸運でした.....が、今回ばかりは予報が的中して、ドカンと雪が降り積もりました。
さて、本日９日は４名のランチの予約が入っていましたが、この大雪でキャンセル間違いないと思っていました。案の定、昨日電話が入り受話器をとると、何と「明日のランチを楽しみにしています」とのこと。外は雪が降っています。高齢の方と聞いていたので「うちは構いませんから、ご無理なさらないでください」と言いましたが、「皆そのつもりですから」と。４名のうちお二人は８８歳、電話のご本人は８２歳、もう一人も同じような年齢というではありませんか！こんな悪天候では普通外出を控えるだろうに、一体この方達はどんな方だろうと逆に興味が湧いてきました。
翌日の今日は朝からやっぱり雪。近江鉄道が運休らしく来店は無理と思っていたら、電話でJRで南彦根まで来るとおっしゃったので、地域の愛のりタクシーに連絡して南彦根駅から多賀の近くの降車場所まで予約をいれました。皆さん時間通りにおいでになって、座敷でいざなみランチを召し上がって寛いでくださいました。
それにしても、皆さんのお元気なこと！体のあちこちにガタがきて、今の仕事もそろそろ納めどきかなと思っている私ですが、本日の高齢のお客様の行動力とお元気な様子に驚くとともに、まだ弱音を吐くのは早いと叱咤激励された思いでした。ああ何度思っても皆様ご立派！
I thought we were lucky because it had been a clear day without snow, even though the weather forecast gave an alert of heavy snow and coldness. However it changed. Yesterday, we had heavy snow and it kept falling today.
I had an appointment for lunch for four people but I thought it must be cancelled because of the heavy snow.
Yesterday, as I expected I had a call from the customer who reserved, but surprisingly she said that she was coming to my cafe despite the bad weather. Since they are elderly from 82 to 88, I told her not to push herself too hard. She said "we are looking forward to coming!". I was very surprised with her words and curious about what kind of people they were.
It was snowing in the morning and the local railway was not running due to the snow which they were supposed to use. I thought they had to cancel the appointment in such a situation, but the person who called me again said that they were going to use another railway (JR) to come to another station, so I promised to call a taxi to bring them from the station to my place. They arrived safely and enjoyed lunch.
At any rate, I was so impressed by their power of action. I, myself, am having problems with various parts of my body and because of this I sometimes think that I should quit the cafe in the near future. However I was encouraged very much by their power and felt refreshed myself. They were amazing indeed!
