I have a confession to make. When we first moved to Florida, I did not like coffee. In fact, I was a diehard tea drinker. I had spent all of my formative years drinking tea with my Mom, my Grandma Moon, my cousins, friends, and neighbors. I loved a nice hot cup of tea in the morning. However, I also loved the smell of coffee. The smell of coffee always made me feel like I was home. Probably because my Dad is a coffee drinker, and Mom always made, still makes, his coffee for him; that was the smell of our house.

When we moved to Florida, I was the farthest from home I had ever been in my life. I knew this was where I was supposed to be, but it didn’t exactly “look” like home. It also didn’t “smell” like home. And so, I got a free coffeemaker from Gevalia by signing up for their coffee deliveries every month. Once I got my coffee maker and my first pound of coffee, I cancelled the order and the coffeemaker was mine to keep. I’m sure this was not very nice, but they said I could cancel at any time and for any reason. And so, I called them and told them, I did not like the taste of their coffee and, BOOM, free coffeemaker!

I actually did this a few more times. But with all the other times I told them in advance that I was only ordering because I needed a new coffeemaker. They laughed and said that was fine. Honesty really is the best policy. I have noticed they no longer offer free coffeemakers. I’m sure I had something to do with that and I’m sorry. Anyway…

We moved, I got a coffeemaker, and I started making coffee every morning. Our home “smelled” like home and I was happy; that is until I realized that someone had to actually drink the coffee and my husband informed me it wasn’t going to be him. I would have offered it to my teenagers, but I didn’t want to stunt their growth. Let’s face it, their chances for reaching average height with our gene pool were already slim-to-none. So, I became a coffee drinker and, a little bit later, I started actually enjoying it! Then this happened…

I didn’t indulge right away, but it was intriguing. Once I entered the store, I didn’t want to leave. HOME…I smelled HOME and it was intoxicating! I soon discovered the ease of the drive-thru and I was hooked, not just on the coffee, but on the hidden benefits.

Once in awhile, when one of my teens seemed to be having a rough time with something and didn’t want to talk to about it. I would take them with me to ‘run errands’ and buy them a coffee. They would take a few sips and spill their guts. Worked every time. Just as a disclaimer, I didn’t do this until I was sure they were full size and that their growth had reached its, less-than-average, peak.

Once I started teaching, I found that a cup of Starbucks on teaching days was very helpful. It became my once-a-week indulgence.  A little out of my way when going to school but I made it doable. And then it happened. A Starbucks opened in our town. Not only that, but it was directly on my way to school, AND it had a drive-thru!

My first time in the drive-thru was like a dream! I pulled up to the speaker and gave my order. The girl said she was sorry, but she couldn’t hear me, so I spoke a little louder. She still couldn’t hear me. I thought it was nice that they hired the hearing impaired, but if this poor girl couldn’t hear my big mouth, she really had a problem. I hung my head out the window and shouted into the speaker. Surely she heard me that time…but, no.

It was then that I experienced an epiphany of sorts, like when someone hits you in the head with a brick. I realized why she couldn’t hear me, why nobody in that building could hear me…I was speaking into a cement post. The “speaker” I was using was a piece of reflective tape around the top of the post.

I sheepishly moved my car forward to the actual speaker on the menu board, apologizing and explaining to the poor girl why she couldn’t hear me. We both had a good laugh. I could blame it on the fact that I hadn’t had my coffee yet, but really it’s just not that big a deal.