Coffee Shop Conversations

 Kris Atomic

Who is with me when I say, " I MISS COFFEE SHOPS." I miss the connections, the conversations,the meeting new friends,meeting for a meeting. I am an introvert by nature and being a wall flower in a coffee shop allows me connections without speaking. I sit in a corner. I see peoples lives before me.  That man looks like a surgeon, that one looks like a manager, that lady with the three kids looks like she needs a jolt of caffeine fast before her kids get yelled at for her patience wearing thin. Coffee shops connect us, be it only for a short time, but they do. They are our third place. The place where we feel safe. The place where we come together as a community, but we each go out separate way.

Covid, in its length, has forced new normals. It has forced us to change how we interact. We have zoom meetings with everyone with business up top and Pj's on bottom. We now visit our loved ones from the curbs. We talk through doors, screens, and everything else at a safe distance. We shop with an accuracy as if our lives depend on it. No more lollygagging about in stores and buying impulse purchases. Covid has changed our normal.

 Coffee shops and other third places are hurting right now. Financially if we can we need to tip big. Give from the heart to others suffering to bring us a service. There are less people going out. They are fewer people wandering stores aimlessly. Right now we are in a time of abundance and a time of shortages. In our lives, in our world, life is far from what we are used to, but perhaps its a good thing, maybe a wake up call. Its a chance to focus on family, on making memories in the home. It is a chance to reconnect with loved ones via snail mail. I have taken this time to start sending my mom love notes once a week, so she has something other then bills coming in.

Coffee shop conversations may be a thing of the past, they may still happen down the road, but we do not know. For now take the opportunity to teach your children crafts you know, to make up stories and submit to publishers, learn a recipe together with your partner. Take these covid days as precious time to slow down, to focus, to prioritize. Do not give up on going out, be safe, take precautions, but light some candles and eat by candlelight because well it is a Wednesday. Do something to make today special for you and your loved ones. Make your own coffee and conversations gathered around your kitchen table.

I hope this finds you safe, your family well, and know I am thinking of you. In your struggles, in your triumphs, you are in my thoughts and prayer.

Stay Safe,

Your storyteller/poetess 

Debbie

xoxoxox