For busy parents juggling kids, work, dentist appointments, soccer games, and the like, getting a cup of coffee is a no-brainer.  My morning trip to the Starbuck’s across the street from my office has become so routine that sometimes I hardly remember crossing the street and ordering the coffee.  Not so with the baristas there.  I remember their faces and smiles and excellent service and they know me and my regular drink by name.  It doesn’t hurt that as a frequent customer I’ve earned the Starbuck’s gold card with my name inscribed at the bottom, or that it’s part of their customer service pledge to remember customers’ names.  We make small talk about coffees, the seasons, and the scarcity of pumpkin scones this year.  I’m a coffee purist and seldom order a multinomial drink, but when I do, we discuss the pros and cons of flavored syrups, sugar content, and foam vs. milk.

A couple of months ago at ‘my’ Starbuck’s, the baristas created a new chalkboard sign and someone had sketched little personalized stick figures of all the baristas and their names. Now that I knew their names, instead of being people whom I said hello to in my morning rush to get my coffee and get to work, I began to see them as the fully-dimensional people that they are, with careers and interests and lives outside of work.  I took notice when one day Anna, a manager, stopped wearing her signature red lipstick (even her stick figure on the chalkboard had red lips). When I asked why, she explained that a customer had made an unwelcome comment about it.  I felt a sense of concern, but also, community.

This morning on my regular trip for coffee I brought a few toys for the annual toy drive.  At the last minute, I decided to save a couple of princess coloring sets to have at my office for the kids who come to work with their parents around the holidays. As I approached the counter, Jane noticed the coloring sets and asked for one.  She was overjoyed and went on to tell me that she loves princesses and has a second, part-time job as Snow White, performing at kids’ birthday parties.  Her favorite princess is Snow White – and she loves to color.  It was the first time that we shared a story.  I was reminded of an exercise that we did in graduate school based on the book, Now, Discover Your Strengths.  One of my core strengths, circled in pink highlighter in the book, is connectedness.  Connectedness is the belief that, while we are individuals with own our free will, we are a part of something larger. It is the belief in the unity of humankind. 

Despite our different religious and cultural backgrounds, careers, family and income status, we share the world and hopefully, the goodwill of the season.  The challenge is to carry on that goodwill tomorrow and throughout the year in spite of our fast-paced, do-this and do-that world.  The Mom and Pop neighborhood coffee shop may have gone the way of the vinyl record, but the coffee shop community spirit is alive and well in today’s coffee culture.  And in case you were wondering (as I was), Anna is back to wearing her red lipstick.