SOSMagOctoberDecember2021

Cindy Branco, 64, Owner of The Lunch Box Restaurant , and her co-workers, Tera Fair, 69 and Julie Baumbick, 80 still work. And they enjoy it. Part of what they enjoy is working with 14 year old Emma. She is an ambitious teenager who wanted employment to earn money. This summer she earned more than compensation. She has three mentors, too. Prior to working at The Lunch Box, Emma use to baby sit children to earn money. I asked how working with children compares to working with older adults? She replied, “It’s about the same. Both want to do things their way.” Emma is no different. “I’m a pretty independent person. I like to figure things out on my own.” She recognizes that Cindy, Tera and Julie know a lot that she does not know. “They have shown me how to make work easier. They taught me how to carry three or 4 drinks at a time without a tray, how to stack the cups, how to bus a table quickly by carrying everything to the kitchen in one trip.” She has also learned how to organize the money when handing it back to the customer, how to organize the cash register and how to clean. Cindy remembers the day she hired Emma. “Emma has been excited about working here from the first day I hired her. She is still excited about being at work. She is reliable and honest. Once she learns what she is supposed to do, she takes responsibility for it. We really like working with her. We have adopted her (so-to-speak). Age Differences Work: It Brings Out the Best in All of Us Tera Fair, 69, recalls Emma being real quiet when she first started working. Today, she describes Emma as “a little firecracker.” “I love it when I work with her. I tell her that if you have time to lean then you have time to clean. And she will! She just goes with the flow.” Julie Baumbick, 80, bakes for The Lunch Box. She said, “She’s a little pistol. Emma is very interested in baking and will ask me a bunch of questions while I bake. She is learning, growing and developing and she will do anything I ask her to do. If she makes a mistake we help her along. She is fun to work with and we all care about her. These Golden Girls, (aka Cindy, Tera and Julie) see Emma is learning valuable life lessons and it’s gratifying to watch. As for Emma, she appreciates all that they have taught her and how it has developed her confidence. Front: Julie Baumbick, Back Row L-R: Emma Hall, Tera Fair, Lunch Box Mascot, Cindy Branco, Owner. 5