KH COMMENTARY: Who's Serving Your Coffee?

The last six months have been pretty life-changing for yours truly. I went from being employed full-time in my much beloved industry to becoming a casualty of the economic crisis. I went from a fortnightly payslip to no pay slip at all. For five long months, I lived off my savings and redundancy while I desperately tried to get my foot back in the door, but it seemed all the doors, windows and cat flaps back into the industry were shut and padlocked.

So I went freelance but while I wrote pitches and waited on commissions, I was still struggling to pay the bills so I was forced to fall back on the only redeemable skill I seem to have - waitressing.

For me, this was a huge kick in my ego pants. I had gone from being the pressed and dressed white-colour worker to the waitress dishing our flat whites and bacon and eggs. It seemed like while I had taken one step forward, I had not turned around and fifteen backwards. I felt like a huge failure and I was very unhappy.

It's been four months since I started working at my cafe and it's taken me four months to realise what a s-n-o-b I had become. I have always seen waitressing as a last resort, a train fast making it's way to the town of Unambition. But since turning in my laptop for a few hours each day in exchange for a docket book and a pen, it's started to give me a new lease on life.

I no longer consider myself second-class. In fact, I consider myself extremely lucky. For five hours every day, I get to be a part of peoples' lives. Whether they're escaping their bosses, offices or responsibilities. Whether they're meeting up with family or old friends or simply taking an hour out of their hectic day to breathe and read the paper. I am not trapped behind a desk and a deadline. I am constantly interacting and learning - not about budgets or business plans or how to make more money. Simply about people. I know their names and how they like their coffee, what their plans are for the weekend and when their babies or grandchildren are due. I notice when I haven't seen the regulars in awhile and the regulars notice when they haven't seen me. I know my customer's preferences and habits and I never tire of seeing that look on their face when I remember something that is particular to them alone. It's a look of appreciation and relief that here, they are valued and remembered.

I am not a waitress. I am witness. And I may not be finding a cure for cancer or driving the economy. I may not be meeting deadlines or designing buildings, fighting for justice or climbing a career ladder. But at the end of the day, I know that I play a part in the lives of the people who are doing all those things and that part is just as important.

So next time you stop by your favourite local coffee distributor (who knows, it might be my cafe!) make sure you say 'Hi' to your waitres. Ask her name, find out what she likes and what she does on the weekend. Because, like you, she's more than just her job.

Ciao for now. xo

Image Credit: Cesca from Girl With A Satchel