Giulia the Waitress

In the early 90's there was a song by Material Issue called "Kim the Waitress". I am sure without a doubt that Giulia in her own way will one day inspire many an unemployed musician, but for now she's just my "baby" - a precocious 7 year old who loves to work as a waitress in The Beehive's cafe.

It all started about a month ago before we left for Puglia. One night while Viola and I were away on our yoga retreat, Steve, Giulia and Paloma slept at The Beehive because Steve had to work the next morning in the cafe. Giulia asked if she could help and there began her introduction to the working world. Afterwards she asked if she could work some more and as it happened Steve had to work mornings all that week because we were short-staffed. In the meantime, I had returned to Rome only to find my oldest child waking up at 6 in the morning and leaving for work with her father!

Now it's not play by any means - Steve made it clear that he needed a true helper, she would really need to work and work she did. She took people's orders, brought them their food and drink, bussed tables, added up the totals on their bill and took their money. Here's a copy of one of her first order slips: "caffe latte 2, 1 om (omelette), 2 eggs scrambled, fresh oj, granola/fruit, cows milk". She has proven to be a real help to her father. Her first week she made €81 in wages and tips, and she learned from a guest what "getting stiffed" means.

Having our daughters attend a private school where many of their friends and schoolmates get money "just because", Steve and I are really proud of her work ethic which she seems to be truly grasping at such an early age. More than that, her generosity knows no bounds. With her first wages she took us all out for gelato, wanted to buy her sister, Paloma, a necklace (too expensive for a 5 year old and we discouraged her from doing it), and bought me a present. At lunch one day, she very excitedly passed over to me a neatly wrapped package. Inside, was a scented lavender candle and the look on her face said it all to me - "Remember that candle we saw in the erboristeria that you liked? Here it is for you and I bought it with my very own money!" I thought my face was going to crack - it just couldn't contain how big of a smile I had for her. Paloma was quite distraught that she didn't have a present for me and she vowed that as soon as she made money she would buy me something. Don't worry, Paloma - you can buy me all the gifts you want when you are older!

Giulia worked brunch today with Steve and wants more shifts, but it will be difficult now that she starts school on Wednesday. Yesterday she was acting up a bit and I found myself saying, "Okay Giulia keeping doing that and you're not going to go to work tomorrow" which instantly stopped her bad behavior. Who would have known!