Welcome to the family!

What does family mean to you?

What does that mean in a workplace?

Family as a whole seems to mean a group of individuals that you entrust and love that can be a support group and safety net.

This is obviously not the case for everyone.

Myself included, adopted at two weeks old by my biological fathers side of the family which has shaped how I view family immensely. My grandparents declared hours after I was born that they wanted me to be theirs. My mom had rejected the thought but she was extremely young and her family situation was unfortunately not what one would call happy or picture perfect, she placed me in the care of these loving grandparents and life went on as it does.

All this to say family is something I always reached for and grappled to understand while wrestling the idea of abandonment.

Starting at a new job is often rattling but I was met with patience and felt I could ask an unlimited amount of questions, everything was entirely new.

The staff was incredibly friendly and helpful.

My second day at the job i broke the screen of an ipad that doubled as a till with the square payment at the time it was the little headphone attachment for swiping cards and a customer had given me their card and upon swiping it i got caught mid way because their card was cracked and when i continued the motion of swiping it pulled and the ipad landed face down, i will never never forget the sound of the screen cracking as it made contact with the concrete floors of the cafe my heart felt like it stopped and there was a pause,

“Oh, I should really get that card replaced!” chimed the customer

I finally snapped back in and quickly recovered the now smashed ipad with shards falling out

“It’s ok! Don’t stress about it! It has happened before! Though they're not here anymore” chuckled my coworker.

Mortified, my mind started racing thinking about applying for new jobs and thinking about if this will come out of my paycheck.

It ended up being that the person my coworker was referring to was more of a seasonal staff that worked there during off periods from university, the ipad was taken in and a few weeks later all the ipads had cases.

Some time went by and i passed my bar test so i could make drinks on my own and was feeling a little more confident and finding myself feeling more at ease and at home, the cafe was very small and had previously been half the size, it was tucked away in a neighbourhood ten minute drive away from the downtown area but despite size and placement we always had a steady stream of people and weekends and some mornings a line that would go out of the door!

Regulars started remembering my name and I was finally getting to know theirs and their orders.

One afternoon during a rush i was taking a customers order and they greeted me so familiarly

“Oh my goodness, i didn't know you left *******! So good to see you again!” they chimed with a friendly smile.

It was an odd feeling, recalling my days at the corporation to now being in a local third wave cafe.

It wasn’t that I hated those that I had worked with and i was very fortunate enough to have a genuinely kind and organised manager at the chain; i will never forget my brief time across the country when i transferred to a store in the same corp and had a manager who made my life hell, I cried everyday after every shift for a month but i'll save that for another time.

It had felt odd though on how content I was and had a feeling of belonging and excitement here in this little cafe and even when I was scheduled at the downtown location the pace and clients were different but the manager there at the time made me feel at ease.

I couldn’t believe how lucky I had felt in that time, it gave me hope in my dream of staying in coffee for the rest of my life, there is something so genuinely fulfilling to me when you can change a persons day with a refreshing or comforting beverage and small

Genuine conversation, wishing them a good or better day and when they smile and say “I definitely will now, thank you!” Those moments always leave an impression in my heart, and I recall the times I became a regular at a coffee spot and they remember my name or order and recall the little moments I've shared of my life.

I think this is why I find myself still in shock at how it has ended, having my dream shattered and being cut off and feeling cut out by a place that felt like home and did once feel like I was part of a family; more on that later.

A moment that I felt that I was supported and taken care of was in the fall during my first close. I was so anxious all morning going over the “cheat sheet” I had asked for from my coworker who was known to be an efficient and fast closer.

I had arrived 30 minutes early; this happened often as the bus that went by the small neighbourhood ran few and far in between so I was either very early, a minute before punching in, or late.

Upon arriving the manager at the time had told me I could send a text if I had any questions and assured me that I would be ok, if there was an emergency they didn't live far, they had also left me a note wishing me luck with a miniature pumpkin on top.

It’s hard to recall how it went but i believe it went smoothly and i stayed late to triple check my list and left a good morning note for the opener, i do recall how lovely it felt to play my own music and be in the cafe alone at times sweeping and thinking about how excited i was to do this for my own cafe someday. I set the alarm, locked up and missed my bus but was content waiting on the bench for the bus that would be there in 35min with my mini pumpkin on my lap.

NOTE: Thank you so much for reading and reminiscing with me! I look forward to sharing more moments of my ups and downs as your local barista.