Voici\u00a0qu\u2019un beau jour arrive, \u00e0 nos bureaux, cette journaliste bien intentionn\u00e9e qui s\u2019ent\u00eate \u00e0 me demander comment j\u2019ai r\u00e9ussi \u00e0 concilier vie familiale et vie professionnelle.<\/p>\n
Et moi de lui r\u00e9pondre que je n\u2019ai pas du tout r\u00e9ussi \u00e0 concilier ces deux mondes. Et elle de vouloir en savoir davantage.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u2009\u00c0 l\u2019ouverture de notre premier resto, ch\u00e8re dame, \u00e0 cause du manque de ressources, toute la vaisselle, toutes les casseroles et tout le petit ameublement de notre maison (vendue pour acheter le fonds de commerce) avaient \u00e9t\u00e9 apport\u00e9s au resto. Et c\u2019est ainsi que notre vie familiale s\u2019est\u00a0install\u00e9e, elle aussi, dans ce premier petit resto,\u00a0autour\u00a0de la table de cuisine\u00a0de feu ma m\u00e8re tr\u00f4nant bien en \u00e9vidence dans l\u2019encolure de la bay window du resto. La table de maman est demeur\u00e9e\u00a0l\u2019\u00e9picentre de notre vie familiale\u00a0en m\u00eame temps qu\u2019elle servait \u00e0 accueillir les clients pendant les heures ouvrables. C\u2019\u00e9tait d\u2019ailleurs la table pr\u00e9f\u00e9r\u00e9e de tous.\u2009\u00bb<\/p>\n
Nous y prenions, les enfants et moi,\u00a0nos\u00a0deux repas de la journ\u00e9e; celui tr\u00e8s t\u00f4t le matin avant l\u2019\u00e9cole, et celui vers cinq heures tenant lieu de souper avant d\u2019aller dormir.<\/p>\n
Pour le reste de nos activit\u00e9s personnelles, nous avions lou\u00e9 un quatre\u00a0pi\u00e8ces et demi non loin du resto sur une rue achaland\u00e9e du nord de Montr\u00e9al. Encore\u00a0aux \u00e9tudes, le plus jeune revenait\u00a0au resto chaque jour apr\u00e8s le coll\u00e8ge pour laver \u00e0 grande eau tout\u00a0le plancher de la salle \u00e0 manger et celui plus coriace de la petite cuisine. Il aidait au r\u00e9curage\u00a0des casseroles et bien souvent, il nettoyait minutieusement la grande plaque chauffante. Chaque jour, il faisait sa part de m\u00e9nage et ensuite il\u00a0mettait les ustensiles et les assiettes sur notre belle table ronde\u00a0et sortait les restes du midi du gros r\u00e9frig\u00e9rateur commercial. Il les s\u00e9parait selon les pr\u00e9f\u00e9rences de chacun et r\u00e9chauffait chaque assiette de nourriture. Enfin tous assis autour de la table, nous jasions de la journ\u00e9e de travail comme\u00a0si nous \u00e9tions de jeunes ex\u00e9cutifs avides d\u2019avancement.<\/p>\n
Les week-ends, comme tout le monde\u00a0travaillait\u00a0au service ou \u00e0 la cuisine, il arrivait souvent que ma fille baragouine ses consignes au plus jeune en langue grecque. Celui-ci pestait\u00a0en affirmant qu\u2019il connaissait par c\u0153ur la liste de pr\u00e9paratifs qu\u2019il\u00a0avait \u00e0 faire pour le lendemain. Le ton montait quelques fois, mais l\u2019amour avait toujours le dernier mot.<\/p>\n
Sans nous en rendre compte nous prenions le pli de ce qu\u2019allaient \u00eatre les dix prochaines ann\u00e9es du commerce familial avec une maman qui remettait toujours \u00e0 PLUS TARD les demandes des enfants, m\u00eame les plus raisonnables\u00a0: un jour de cong\u00e9 ici et l\u00e0, quelques piastres suppl\u00e9mentaires pour une g\u00e2terie.<\/p>\n
Ma r\u00e9ponse \u00e9tait toujours la m\u00eame\u00a0: \u00ab\u2009Maintenant, nous avons besoin de chaque cenne noire pour l\u2019entreprise, mais PLUS TARD, plus tard je vous le promets ON SERA BIEN\u2009\u00bb.<\/p>\n
Durant de longues ann\u00e9es, les enfants ont essay\u00e9 de savoir QUAND arriverait ce fameux \u00ab\u2009plus tard\u2009\u00bb tant attendu. Puis ils ont compris que maman ne vendrait pas la peau de l\u2019ours avant de l\u2019avoir tu\u00e9. Ils se sont fait une raison et travaillaient pour payer l\u2019essentiel\u00a0avec un maigre extra les jours d\u2019affluence exceptionnelle.<\/p>\n
M\u00eame lorsqu\u2019on est arriv\u00e9s \u00e0 r\u00e9gler nos factures \u00e0 temps et \u00e0 satisfaire nos employ\u00e9s, la situation n\u2019a pas beaucoup chang\u00e9. Ma gourmande\u00a0ambition calculait sans r\u00e9pit chaque dollar \u00e9conomis\u00e9 pour ouvrir le prochain restaurant.<\/p>\n
Je me souviens\u00a0du jour o\u00f9 nous avons f\u00eat\u00e9 notre cinqui\u00e8me\u00a0anniversaire. Tout avan\u00e7ait rondement, mais moi, j\u2019avais encore la t\u00eate ailleurs\u00a0lorsque mon jeune fils a essay\u00e9 de m\u2019expliquer que nos rendements \u00e9taient tr\u00e8s satisfaisants. Je le savais, mais j\u2019avais\u00a0toujours cette damn\u00e9e manie de vouloir accumuler une petite r\u00e9serve pour \u00eatre capable de profiter d\u2019une bonne occasion.<\/p>\n
Enfin, lorsque le plus jeune a pris le flambeau en 2007, il a quand m\u00eame dit devant tout le monde\u00a0:\u2009\u00ab\u2009Merci maman pour notre compagnie prosp\u00e8re et sans dettes.\u2009\u00bb<\/p>\n
\u00c0 mes d\u00e9buts, j\u2019\u00e9tais incapable de ralentir et les enfants me suivaient.\u00a0 Me motivant pour aller encore plus loin. Je ne pouvais\u00a0absolument pas imaginer ma vie sans eux. M\u00eame si plusieurs circonstances m\u2019ont emp\u00each\u00e9e d\u2019\u00eatre une maman mod\u00e8le \u00e0 la maison, mon c\u0153ur a toujours battu uniquement pour eux\u2026 et pour la \u00ab\u2009business\u2009\u00bb bien entendu.<\/p>\n
-\u00a0\u00ab\u2009Non madame, je n\u2019ai \u00e9t\u00e9 ni \u00e9quilibr\u00e9e ni capable de s\u00e9parer\u00a0les exigences et les responsabilit\u00e9s li\u00e9es \u00e0 ma vie professionnelle et \u00e0 ma vie familiale\u2009\u00bb. Elles \u00e9taient indissociables pour moi. Tout arrivait en m\u00eame temps dans ma t\u00eate, tout faisait partie de la m\u00eame gestion des priorit\u00e9s. 30\u00a0$\u00a0dollars pour les nouveaux manuels scolaires du jeunot, 18\u00a0$ pour le lavage des vitres du resto et 22\u00a0$ pour le changement d\u2019huile de la Renault\u00a05 chez Canadian Tire.<\/p>\n
C\u2019est mon c\u0153ur de maman qui m\u2019a donn\u00e9 le courage d\u2019ouvrir un premier petit resto. Sachez madame que ce\u00a0sont\u00a0mes qualit\u00e9s de m\u00e8re de famille qui ont \u00e9t\u00e9 d\u00e9terminantes dans mon succ\u00e8s\u00a0: la t\u00e9nacit\u00e9, le sens des responsabilit\u00e9s et\u00a0de l\u2019organisation, l\u2019amour de ma famille, la discipline et cet ardent d\u00e9sir de faire plaisir au monde, de bien les accueillir, de prendre soin d\u2019eux et d\u2019enseigner aux miens \u00e0 faire de m\u00eame.<\/p>\n
\u00c7a\u00a0n\u2019a pas toujours \u00e9t\u00e9 facile pour mes enfants d\u2019avoir une maman sur les talons \u00e0 c\u0153ur\u00a0de jour ni d\u2019\u00eatre au garde \u00e0 vous lorsqu\u2019elle exigeait qu\u2019une nouvelle\u00a0t\u00e2che soit faite imm\u00e9diatement. Mais le soir au souper, nous finissions toujours par nous entendre.<\/p>\n
Maman faisait quelques petites concessions \u00e0 sa rigueur et eux \u00e9laboraient des plans pour quand arriverait le fameux \u00ab\u2009PLUS TARD, ON SERA BIEN\u2009\u00bb. Le plus jeune r\u00eavait de bagnoles rutilantes, ma fille de voyages intercontinentaux, et le plus vieux, d\u2019\u00e9crire des chansons et de les chanter sur la sc\u00e8ne en marbre du c\u00e9l\u00e8bre th\u00e9\u00e2tre de Dionysos, situ\u00e9 sur le versant sud-est de l\u2019acropole d\u2019Ath\u00e8nes. \u00c0 coup s\u00fbr, un dessert de fou rire et des r\u00eaves quasi impossibles savaient ramener la joie\u00a0autour de la table.<\/p>\n
Que se passe-t-il dans ma t\u00eate? Je ne me souviens plus de l\u2019ann\u00e9e o\u00f9 j\u2019ai moi-m\u00eame commenc\u00e9 \u00e0 croire au \u00ab\u2009PLUS TARD, ON SERA BIEN\u2009\u00bb. \u00c9tait-ce \u00e0 l\u2019ouverture du trenti\u00e8me ou du cinquanti\u00e8me restaurant? \u00c9tait-ce en\u00a01998, ou en 2001, l\u2019ann\u00e9e o\u00f9 nous avons ouvert notre\u00a0premier restaurant hors Qu\u00e9bec? Je me souviens pourtant de la centi\u00e8me ouverture. L\u2019exub\u00e9rance de ma joie aurait pu transporter une montagne.<\/p>\n
Pensais-je pour autant que nous \u00e9tions sauv\u00e9s des eaux?<\/p>\n
\u00c0 mes d\u00e9buts, mon intention \u00e9tait de pouvoir changer le damn\u00e9 karma de pauvret\u00e9 dont mes enfants risquaient d\u2019h\u00e9riter. Je croyais alors que l\u2019argent allait compenser nos mis\u00e8res de jadis. Puis \u00e0 force de b\u00fbcher pour avancer, j\u2019ai vite compris que la v\u00e9ritable richesse consiste \u00e0 reconna\u00eetre nos talents et \u00e0 saisir les opportunit\u00e9s \u00e0 exploiter!<\/p>\n
\u2764\ufe0f<\/p>\n
Cora<\/p>\n
Psst\u00a0: Et lorsqu\u2019en mai 1996 nous avons ferm\u00e9 notre premier petit resto pour en construire un beaucoup plus grand dans le m\u00eame territoire, nous avons pris bien soin de d\u00e9m\u00e9nager la table de maman dans le premier petit bureau chef de l\u2019entreprise Cora. Cette bienheureuse table est encore avec nous aujourd\u2019hui, \u00e0 la retraite dans l\u2019immense nouveau bureau chef de l\u2019entreprise, construit en 2008 sous la prudente gouverne\u00a0de notre pr\u00e9sident.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Voici\u00a0qu\u2019un beau jour arrive, \u00e0 nos bureaux, cette journaliste bien intentionn\u00e9e qui […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2139,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lettre-mme-cora"],"acf":{"img_en":"","contenu_en":"One day, a well-intentioned journalist arrived at our offices and asked me how I managed to balance work and family.<\/span>\r\n\r\nI answered that I hadn\u2019t managed to balance these two worlds at all. She wanted me to elaborate.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n- \u201cWhen we opened our first restaurant, Ms. Reporter, we didn\u2019t have much, so all the dishes, pots and pans and small furnishings from the house (which we had sold to buy the business) were brought to the restaurant. That\u2019s how our family life settled into that first tiny diner, around my late mother\u2019s kitchen table, prominently displayed in the alcove of the diner\u2019s bay window. Mom\u2019s table remained the epicentre of family life as well as the place to greet customers during business hours. It was everyone\u2019s favourite table.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe children and I ate our two meals of the day there. One very early in the morning before school and the other around five o\u2019clock, instead of the typical supper hour just before bed that other families observed.<\/span>\r\n\r\nFor our other personal needs, we had rented a 2-bedroom apartment not far from the restaurant on a busy street in the north of Montreal. Still in school, the youngest came back every day after college to wash the entire floor of the restaurant and the rougher one in the small kitchen. He helped scrub the pots and pans and often gave the large hot plate a thorough cleaning. Each day he would do his part of the cleaning and then lay the utensils and plates on our beautiful round table and take the lunch leftovers out of the big commercial refrigerator. He would divvy them up according to everyone\u2019s preferences and warm up each plate of food. Finally, we would all sit around the table and talk about the day\u2019s work as if we were ambitious young executives.<\/span>\r\n\r\nOn the weekends, with everyone pitching in in the kitchen or providing service, my daughter could often be heard giving instructions to the youngest in Greek. The latter would complain that he already knew by heart the list of preparations he had to make for the next day. Voices would sometimes rise, but love always had the last word.<\/span>\r\n\r\nWithout realizing it, we were setting the rhythm for the next 10 years of our family business, with Mom always PUTTING OFF the children\u2019s reasonable requests \u2013 a day off here or there, a few extra bucks for a treat. My answer was always the same: \"We need every penny for the business now. I promise you that LATER, later WE\u2019LL BE OK.\u201d<\/span>\r\n\r\nFor many years, the children tried to determine WHEN the long-awaited \"later\" would arrive. They finally realized that Mom wasn\u2019t going to count the chickens before they hatched. They came to terms with a life of working to cover the basics, with a little extra on the side when business was really busy. Even when we managed to pay our bills on time and keep our employees happy, the situation didn\u2019t change much. My greedy ambition relentlessly calculated every saved dollar that we could put towards opening the next restaurant.<\/span>\r\n\r\nI remember the day we celebrated our fifth anniversary. Everything was going well, but my mind was still on the job when my young son tried to explain to me that our sales were very strong. I knew it, but I was still fixated on this idea that we needed to build up a little reserve in case a good opportunity came up.<\/span>\r\n\r\nWhen the youngest took over the reins in 2007, he did make a point of saying in front of everyone: \"Thanks, Mom, for our debt-free and prosperous company.\"<\/span>\r\n\r\nWhen I started, I was incapable of slowing down and the kids kept step with me, prompting me to go even further. I couldn't imagine my life without them. Even though many circumstances prevented me from being a model mother at home, my heart has only ever beaten for them... and the business, of course.<\/span>\r\n\r\n- \"No, ma\u2019am, I was not at all balanced. I couldn\u2019t separate the demands and responsibilities of my work and family life. For me, they were inseparable. Everything was happening at the same time in my head, everything was lumped together as priorities that needed managing. The kids\u2019 new textbooks: $30. Window washer for the diner: $18. Oil change on the Renault 5 at Canadian Tire: $22<\/span>\r\n\r\nIt was my mother\u2019s heart that gave me the courage to open my first small restaurant. My maternal qualities were the key to our success: tenacity, a sense of responsibility and organization, love for my family, discipline and a burning desire to please the world, to welcome them, to take care of them and to teach my children to do the same.<\/span>\r\n\r\nIt wasn't always easy for my kids to have a mom nipping at their heels during the day, nor was it easy for them to jump to it when she demanded a new task be done immediately. But by dinnertime, we always ended as a happy crew. Mom would make a few small concessions to her strict regimen and they would double their efforts while making plans for when the famous \"WE'LL BE OK LATER\u201d\u00a0would arrive.\u00a0The youngest dreamed of gleaming cars, my daughter of jetting off to faraway lands and the oldest of writing songs and singing them on the marble stage of the well-known Dionysus Theatre, located on the southeast side of Athens\u2019 Acropolis. A dessert filled with laughter and wild-sounding dreams would bring joy back to the table each time.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nWhat was going on in my head? I can\u2019t remember which year I started believing in our mantra \"IT WILL BE OK LATER\" myself. Was it when the thirtieth or fiftieth restaurant opened? Was it 1998 or 2001, the year we opened our first restaurant outside of Quebec? I remember the hundredth opening though. The intensity of my joy could have moved a mountain. Did I really think we were finally safe?<\/span>\r\n\r\nWhen I started out, my goal was to change the terrible karma of poverty that my children seemed destined to inherit. I believed then that money would make up for our past miseries. Then, as I struggled to get ahead, I soon realized that true wealth lies in recognizing our talents and seizing the opportunity to develop them!<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u2764\ufe0f<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Cora\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nPsst: In May 1996, when we closed our first small restaurant to build a much larger one in the same area, we took great care to move Mom\u2019s table into the first small corporate head office.\u00a0That blessed table is still with us today, retired in the President\u2019s huge office, built in 2008, under his wise leadership.<\/span>"},"yoast_head":"\n