Coffee Shop Courier 3.14.08

Friday March 14, 2008

Rebekka hummed as she prepared for another day of customer community and wonderful pointless banter. Looking around, one could easily see that there was a system to her morning. She was the opener and, as the title suggests, she was responsible for the day's beginning. She was the stage-setter, the set-designer, the mood-regulator. Rebekka was the creator in these moments. There was no hint of frustration; no beads of sweat turning into salt wrinkles on her brow. Nope. This was her time and she defended it with the upturned corners of her mouth and the good vibrations pouncing out of her rosy cheeks.

It was into this warm something that I walked at 6:45 am. “Good morning Miss Rebekka”. “Goot Mornin’”, she replied with her bubbly German lilt. “It seems that you have gotten most everything already done for the day and you still have ten minutes to spare. Can I do anything for you?” She stood with her head cocked to the side for a quick minute. She looked like one of those oddly beautiful cartoon characters in a Disney movie; maybe a wide-eyed puppy from Lady and the Tramp or some winsome friend of a syrup-voiced princess. “Sur, I habn’t gotten to da refilling da copfee yet”, she said thoughtfully. There was something in her reply that was inviting and full of encouragement and trust. I felt like I had been invited into the fun! “Great, I would love to fill those for you”. And that’s what I did. At 6:50 am, I stood cheerfully behind the light oak counter with the squishy mats underneath my flip-flopped feet and filled the grinder hoppers from a bag of rich, umber beans.

Familairity breeds ... pure love

Ever heard that weird line "familiarity breeds contempt"? It's an interesting thought. Basically it means to say that the more time you spend with someone, the more you find them absolutely annoying and atrociously obnoxious. I really and truly used to believe in this saying. It seemed fair; the more time that you spend with someone, the more you get to know their less idealistic sides. A friend I knew in seminary used to say that it was a psychological fact that all of the things one finds intriguing in a romantic partner, one later finds to be the thing that is the most frustrating after becoming committed. So the guy who really digs the girl who is always looking really made-up and prettied can't stand the way that his now-girlfriend takes 20 minutes to put on lipstick and makes them late for everything. In the same way, the girl that is attracted to the quiet guy who is really sweet and genuine later is frustrated that he never wants to go out and socialize.

Now with that background I go back to the fact that I used to believe that "familiarity breeds contempt". I say that I "used" to believe that because after celebrating my first half of a year with my husband by going away to British Columbia together for a friend's wedding, I have found the opposite to be true. Instead of familiarity breeding contempt, sarcasm, boredom or anything of that nature, familiarity has bred pure love. This excites me because I believe that this will only continue to happen the further down the road we get. Also, as we become more familiar with praying with each other, reading together, eating together, sleeping together, driving together and everything else together, I become more aware of what my husband needs. I become more attuned to him as a person. I count this as such a blessing because I really and truly know how much I don't deserve this kind of joy in my life. I count it only as a gift from God. I am so excited to wake up every morning with my best friend and say, "I am yours and you are mine. Let's take on the day".