There is a lot to be said for the simple things in life.
Like coffee!
And coffee with a friend is kind of like having a double-double without any worry about gaining weight.
In fact, even if you have coffee with two friends you’re good.
They say meditation, exercise and giving thanks is good, too.
But, me, I like wrapping my fingers around a steaming cup of black java, smiling across the table at a dear and special friend and proceeding to wisely waste a few precious minutes of my day.
For me, this little visit to the place the world at large calls Tim’s is kind of like going to a therapist (aka) Tim’s.
The sessions take about as long as it does to sip a medium double-double — a large takes too many swallows and interferes with our talking and a small is simply not big enough for us to feel the jolt of well being we are after.
At the beginning of our sessions we allow ourselves to fret, complain and worry out loud.
Then we tell each other how tired we are.
“I was so tired yesterday, I could hardly keep my eyes open.”
“I was comatose on the couch exactly three and a half minutes after completing the supper dishes.” “I didn’t even do the dishes,” said her companion (that would be me).
We take a sip. Companionably. We ponder our problem, trying to figure out how to wake up.
We can’t. And so we face it. We are destined to be tired.
We take another sip.
And, then we compliment each other on how good we look that morning. Usually, we love something about the other person, whether it be her scarf, her hair, her necklace or some item of her clothing.
I’m thinking we should just get over with and say,
“I love everything about you this morning,” but that would only warrant a small, black.
And, then if we have run out of stuff to say about ourselves, which is highly unlikely, and we still haven’t drank all our morning brew, we start loving things about other customers we secretly scrutinize as they walk in.
We love their hair or the way they dress or their beautiful smiles.
By this time we are feeling pretty good and haven’t yet had time to be tired, so we hug, walk out the double doors feeling all good and warm and fuzzy because we are fortified not only with caffeine, but with friendship.
And then I, because I have a tendency to forget things, inevitably turn around and come back in through the double doors to retrieve my phone or scarf or purse, or sometimes all three, and away I go again.
And I happily drive away. This week, I am even happier to drive away because I have learned how to park backwards.
It’s a very cool skill!
Having coffee with a friend probably doesn’t rank up there with bucket list stuff or 50 things you want to do before you die.
But, for me, it is, and always will be, one of the highlights of my grateful list.
It’s an unexpected gift like sitting beside my daughter on the way to a medical appointment and sharing a laugh, not a pathetic little giggle, but one of those honest to goodness belly laughs. Or being lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the magical winter white beauty of hoar frost on the way to work. True, they are all only moments in time; quick and fleeting.
But, perhaps that is all we need!