My Date with Myself at Starbucks

There are a few things that I am looking forward to in my future. A few things that I am not looking forward to at all. Here’s an example of one per category. 1) My husband loving me. 2) My kids fighting. Both are in my thoughts today. I noticed these two things at Starbucks on my date with myself.

I was minding my own business when this 3.5ish year old child decides whilst standing to put his foot on his younger brother’s (about 2ish) shoulder trying to squash him. The mom told him to stop in a very hushed and appropriate, authoritative voice as any good mom would do. And the boy says honestly and with deep sincerity, “But Mom! I was trying to squash him!!” Hilarious. But I know that my squirts are going to do that one day and I’ll have to be the mom who does not think that is funny rather than the very single and casual observer.

Secondly. At about 2 o’clock from me, maybe 1:30, there is an older couple possibly retired who are sitting on the love seat together and not speaking to each other, but are transversally sending love vibes to each other. They have matching Toshiba laptops and the wife has a mouse. They came out on a Saturday morning to get their Starbucks beverages, do their internet work, but they did more than that to me. They showed me that love, the kind that lasts vintage, still exists somewhere. In a land where there is not much left of it, it is refreshing to see. I can have that one day. I pray I’ll have that one day.

But I still have an entire lifetime to acquire such a gift.

The one thing that amazes me is that their love started at my age. Her childrearing started at my age. Few people don’t equate their daily decisions and choices to lifetime repercussions. I forget this often as well. Marriages and childrearing take much planning and contemplation. You don’t just accidently raise children or accidentally stay married for 40, 30, or even 20 years. It takes work and time and emotional equity. So my sitting here reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett (an excellent read) is equipping me for parenting and marriaging one day. It’s amazing. How? It adds one more thing that I can instruct my children in (e.g. reading is a gift and should be used often.) It also adds one more thing when I talk to my hubs and ask him if he’s ever read The Help or a book about Southern living in the 1960s. He may say yes. He may say no. But it will spark a new conversational strand.

P.S. The orange-mango-banana smoothie with no protein, soy, and green matcha tea powder is uber green and uber delicious.