Looking for a great place for lunch while spending a rainy day with friends in Fredericksburg TX, we settled on The Peach Tree Tea Room, a tastefully decorated cafe/bakery/gift shop located on South Adams just off the main street. We were a bit late for lunch but quite a few folks were still enjoying their meal and we were told there would be a short wait for a table. We took this as a good sign. As we waited, I discovered I was standing next to a display case holding different types of baked goods.
As I scanned the glass shelves in the display cabinet, I saw my favorites: Oatmeal and raisin cookies! They were on the second shelf down and over on the left side. They were of good size, not too big as to make one feel greedy but yet large enough to really enjoy. They looked as if they would be a bit soft (just the way I like them) and you could see they were packed with raisins and I noticed some oat grains in texture of their light brown surface.
There were other cookies as well, but I always settle on the oatmeal and raisin because they are so good for you. There is the oatmeal which studies have shown is good for your health, then you have raisins which are a dried grape and other studies have shown grapes are full of all kinds of good things for your body. I’m sure the recipe probably included honey as well to sweeten them up a bit. Honey is also natural and good for the body further studies have shown. Oatmeal and raisin cookies are just an all-round good thing for your body, and they serve as well to satisfy a craving. A “win-win” as they say. How could one go wrong?
There were three oatmeal and raisin cookies nicely arranged on that second shelf.
We were seated for our lunch and as I looked over the menu it occurred to me as one who perpetually tries to “watch” what I eat, I could have half of a tuna salad sandwich, a house salad and then I could honestly justify one of those cookies, the ones on the left on the second shelf, along with a cup of coffee and not even feel the least bit of guilt.
So that was my order. I saved my request for the coffee and cookie for when I had finished my sandwich and salad thinking it was more polite and a bit less greedy sounding.
The sandwich, with its homemade bread and the salad, were indeed wonderful. Around the table everyone agreed they felt satisfied with their meal and did not feel the need for a dessert. But I, on the other hand, had preprogrammed myself for “the cookie.”
Erika our lovely and efficient waitress came, asked the obligatory question about having saved any room for dessert, and mine was the only positive response. She responded “off course” to my request for one of the oatmeal and raisin cookies and a coffee, “of course,” sounded very positive to me.
We were sitting next to a window in the far corner of the dining room, and I could always see Erika as she headed toward our table. As we waited, I eagerly looked forward to my well justified cookie.
When in a few minutes Erika headed our way, the first thing I noticed was she was empty handed! What could that mean? “I’m very sorry Sir,” she said politely when reaching our table, “we are out of the oatmeal and raisin cookies.” In a very disappointed tone I said, “But just a few minutes ago there were three in that case out front,” thinking just maybe she didn’t know where they were kept. But she replied “that was all we had left and they can go pretty quickly.”
She politely added, “But, we still have peanut butter and sugar cookies” and she also mentioned some kind of chocolate thing.
It’s easy to justify an oatmeal and raisin cookie for the reasons I’ve already given. There is no way one can justify a sugar cookie. I don’t even know why they exist, as studies have shown sugar isn’t even really good for you. And peanut butter, well they didn’t have the fork marks on the top like my Mom always used to do when she made them and I don’t even really like chocolate.
So the life/business lesson/moral to the story for you is: When you see the cookie you want, take it then.