Goodbye Caribou

I'm sitting at my favorite Caribou Coffee for the last time (holding back tears, for reals).  Caribou is such an integral part of my life.  I feel like a dear friend is moving away.  Melodramatic?  Perhaps.  But who wants to sit and read or have deep conversation at a Starbucks?  Not me.  There is no warmth there. No fireplace. No beautiful wood tables with fun benches to sit on. No chalkboards to draw pictures or spell out your thoughts. No area for kids to play. No pictures of the founders adorning the walls. No trivia questions. Can I say no character?  Perhaps I am being too harsh. I like Starbucks for work and meetings. But it says nothing to my soul. Caribou - well, it is a place my soul has always felt at home.

I worked at Caribou for a short time and grew closer to one of my besties, Sarah, during that time.  We used to send each other ridiculous messages in the memo line on the computer screens (sample: Devo = whipped cream. Whip it. Whip it good).  One day, one of us went in the back room to do something when a rush of people came in.  I forget the details, but from that birthed our love of Top Gun and promising to never leave our wingman again.  We had great fun coming up with trivia questions.  During my Russian phase, we came up with a question about Vladimir Putin and then harassed our customers with phrases like "rootin' for Putin.  Darn tootin'. "

We worked the morning shift together and I loved getting to know the regular customers.  Amy lost her job and would come in every morning for an americano (back when I thought those were gross. Now it is my favorite drink!).  She came in each morning to have a sense of routine during a difficult time of her life. She liked coming to a familiar place every day and seeing familiar faces, and we loved seeing her.  There was medium mocha Mike (good tipper), Italian Gino (who loved to flatter Sarah), and Sloan with his raspberry flavored coffee (I still think this is gross). And I'll never forget white mocha Evan - my Caribou crush. If you are reading this, Evan, I am single. Call me.

In addition to Sarah, I got to know Danielle. The three of us took an epic road trip to Cleveland. Great Lakes Brewery. Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame. So fun!  I also met Ben & Cheryl - kindred veggie spirits. They were so open with their lives and their journeys - depression, weddings, faith and all.  What a privilege to work with such great people.

I could go on and on about the conversations I've had with friends here - and there have been many life-altering ones.  Mostly, I will miss my times of solitude here. There is something about this place that frees my soul to shut out the world and look inward. I spend time here thinking about ways I want to grow and ways I have grown.  Many pages in my journal have been filled in this place. I've written about my faith, boys, friends, jobs, travels, family, loss, joy.  This is a sacred place for me. And yes, now I am crying.  I feel at a loss. I don't know who will take your place in my life, Caribou. Thank you for being a faithful friend. I will miss you dearly.