Coffee Be Thy Name

Before I begin, I feel the need to support a life in coffee cups since the story made me giggle and made me think "yep, that's yet another reason you're my friend!" It also made me pull a bunch of my own cups out to photograph and share. Far left, huge Tigger mug. A gift from my girlfriend Cyndy. This is the cup I use for tea - which is important to note. Beside Tigger, a friendship cup from Marnie. I can't remember when or why but I love this mug. Next in line, my Beatles mug. My boss brought me that one back from California because - well, because I love the Beatles! Beside the Beatles is my Starbucks New York City mug. A gift to me...from me!!! The Sweet Pink one - another mug from another girlfriend. Nancy bought me this one 'just because'. It's pink....what else needs to be said. Far right, my Hockey Hall of Fame mug. Another very cool gift to me, from me. This is the mug that I allow let KP use for his coffee. It's pretty cool and has all of the important hockey trophies on it. Up on the top row is my Starbucks Dublin mug. This one came from my buddy Paul over in Ireland. We traded - I sent him the Canada one, he sent me the Dublin one. Beside that is the mug that Chelsey gave me for Mother's Day a bizillion years ago. It's a photo of her on one side and the other side it says "Worlds Greatest Mom". I never use that one but I absolutely love the photo of her. And last but certainly not least is my Sens mug. A gift from KP, this one is the last of all my favourites!!! Go Sens Go!

Currently, I am using the Starbucks NY mug fairly regularly. I heart NY.

Now then, the point of this blog is two-fold. First to support a life in coffee mugs but also to explain the need for this many coffee mugs.

In the morning, it needs to be coffee. There is no substitute for that. Maybe it's just that coffee is what I'm used to. Maybe I've just been conditioned to believe that I 'need' that caffeine fix when I wake up. Whatever the reason is irrelevant. The fact of the matter is in the morning, it needs to be coffee.

Now, don't get me wrong, I have no issue with tea. No, no. On the contrary, I quite enjoy tea. As a matter of fact, I work in a place where I can sample any number of delicious imported British teas any time that I want to. And don't doubt for a moment that I have tasted each and every one of them.

But, every now and then, a customer will come into the store first thing after we open, see me sipping on my extra-large double-double and proclaim with absolute disdain "Why on earth would you be drinking coffee when you have all of these fine British teas to choose from?!"

I will tell you why. Are you ready? Paying attention???

The answer is this: Because no matter how much I enjoy it, tea is not coffee.

My First Blog

Kindred Spirit: a person who shares beliefs, attitudes, feelings or features with another;
also called kindred soul.

This afternoon I recieved the following message: "I wrote about you today. See if you can find it!" After just a small amount of whining, I was eventually given the hint that would lead me to this story "about me" that I had been instructed to find. It was one of those stories that conjurs up all kinds of warm fuzziness inside and makes you feel extra thankful for how the world works.

After I read the note and wiped my eyes, I went to the comment box to thank her for the things she said. I sat there looking at the tiny little comment box for the longest time thinking that there just wasn't enough space there to really say what I wanted to say. What I wanted to say was so much bigger than just "thanks for that." What I wanted to say was more like....well, more like a blog!!!!

So, for the first Storybook Story, I would like to tell a story about a kindred spirit - My kindred spirit.

Somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 to 20 years ago, my dear friend Mr. B. introduced me to the woman who would one day become his wife. It was New Years Eve at Branigans, and I'm fairly confident that neither of us could have predicted the path that would lead us both to where we are in our lives today.

Over the next few years, many things, people and places kept us very separate in our lives until eventually the least likely person would be responsible for reconnecting me with Mr. B and his family. This time it took virtually no time at all to recognize her.

You know how there are quirky little things that you do that you would NEVER tell another person? Or silly little fantasies that you have that you think are so ridiculous that you wouldn't dare utter it outloud? These are the things that she knows about me. She 'gets' me on levels that no one else does. She understands why I feel the way I do about things.

She knows me. Truly knows me. She forgives my imperfections and celebrates my finer qualities. She is not my friend because of the good; she is my friend in spite of the bad.

I believe that people come in and out of our lives for a reason. I believe that sometimes we don't always recognize the souls that are important to us and I believe that if we aren't paying attention the first time around, those souls who are most important will come back into our lives when it is the right time for them to do that.

I believe in Serendipity. And I have good reason to!

So, all of this to say "thank you" for your blog. Thank YOU for reminding me of how very special you are to me. Thank you for believing in me for all these years. For being there when no one else was; when I was in the depths of despair even. For making me laugh, letting me crying. For being my strength, my friend, my alibi, my kindred spirit, my Diana!!!

I love you to bits!!!