For the past 4 years Eric has been working for Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. He started working there while he was in Chiropractor school because it was fairly close to his school and they were able to work with his schedule. He fit in perfectly. For those of you who know Eric, he totally fits the coffee shop atmosphere. He's a perky, smiley guy who is great around people. When we got married 3 years ago he was still in school and of course he continued working there.
The perks were great. As a brand new teacher I would spend hours in the coffee shop. While he worked, I worked. I would find a spot and grade papers, write lessons plans, read, etc., all the while there was a steady flow of caffeine coming from the cute barista behind the counter. I got to know the workers there and felt like one of them most of the time. I made great friendships with some and some of them would even help me grade papers on their breaks or share my table with me just to hang out. I watched Eric as he suggested coffee's and tea's to the Coffee Bean Virgin's and I watched him say things like "hey _____, will that be the usual?" I even sometimes caught a glimpse of some of those regulars who I'm positive had a crush on him. It was so funny to see some of those girls faun over him giggling and complimenting his smile, nice eyes and long eyelashes. I would crack up as he would casually put his left hand over the register as he punched in their order showing off his bling but of course, those girls were so enraptured by the sparkle in his eye to even notice that he happened to have a band of sparkling diamonds fixated on his left ring finger.
After Eric and I had been married for about 6 months Eric quit coffee bean in order to focus on his studies because he wanted nothing more than to be the best possible Chiropractor he could be. We made the decision for him to quit together but I will be honest, I did not want him to quit for two reasons. For one, I was not that excited about being the bread winner on my Catholic High school just-above-the-poverty-line salary. Secondly, who would supply my bottomless cup of latte's and iced blended coffee drinks? I was devastated but there was an obvious weight lifted from Eric's shoulders and that was enough to give me some peace about it. However, those glorious days of focusing on school quickly came to an end when our rent went up and I lost a few thousand dollars in my salary due of low enrollment. So off Eric went to ask for his job back and thankfully they took him back.
Well, those days are finally over. After a good 4 years Eric's coffee slinging days are done. Earlier this month Eric was given a job as a Chiropractor just a few miles a way from home and just around the corner from my school. He now works 3 days at the Riverside Chiropractor office and 3 days at another clinic. Eric is officially a full time Chiropractor and can finally put that old college job aside and start working a real big kid job. I'm so proud of him for working so hard these past few years and especially these past 4 weeks as he worked 3 jobs spending only a few hours at home each day most of which was spent sleeping. He has truly won my heart over again and I can't wait to actually have my husband home in the evenings with me.
Eric also inspired me this weekend as I watched Eric work his last few days at Coffee Bean. I began to realize how much of an impact we make on each other every day as we go about our lives. On Saturday, I went with Eric to work and I watched as customer after customer came in to the Bean just to say goodbye to Eric. One couple, that I frequently see at the bean, walked out of the shop promising to return the next day for Eric's last day of work. It was so neat to see the friendships that were made with customers after just a few years of making their coffee. For some there were tearful goodbyes and congratulatory remarks as Eric moves on from the Bean to his career in Chiropractic.
So, we have finally arrived. We are finally big kids with big kid jobs.
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