My friends.
I cherish each and every relationship in my life. My dad always said, "Friends are your family of choice." The older I get... I mean the more I live... the more I realize the truth of those words. I have girlfriends who are like sisters, who sit on my couch in jammies with wine or coffee and talk and laugh without pretense. We call (or text) each other when we are in need of comfort, or to share a joy, or just to check in when too much time has slipped between us. I have guy friends who would go to bat for me like a brother. With these friends, I talk into the middle of the night and laugh until my ribs hurt. Our children annoy each other, and love each other, like siblings. It's perfectly real.
Beyond this closest circle, I have many friends with whom I talk over a cup of coffee or tea or a shared meal. We discuss important personal issues. We exchange play dates, child care, expertise, children's clothing, and recipes. We share our dreams, and our gossip. We help one another bear the load of every day life. These people are incredibly important to me. No-one should have to walk this road alone.
And then there are those friends that were from another time in my life, with whom there is still a deep connection, even if we don't keep in close touch. They are important because they helped shape who I am, and because they know me in a way that's different from new friends. We check in with one another on Facebook, send Christmas cards, drop a line when we are in town. It's comforting knowing they are there...
Okay, okay... so I could get really sappy and sentimental very easily. But I won't. I will just say there are many people in my life that I know through my homeschool group, church, the neighborhood. Those that I poached from friends' Facebook pages, (or that poached me). We "comment" and "like" each other's thoughts, status updates, and inspirational quotes. From you, I get links to the most important news, parenting articles, funny cartoons, and heart-wrenching videos. You make up the content of my daily conversations, and consume a great deal of my time. (Which I will never get back. Thanks.)
So what, then, is my point? Writing about all my friends on the coffee blog...
When we started our coffee shop up north, we had ONE friend helping. My dear, sweet, Molly helped paint and build and taste and dream. I have been friends with Molly since we were both in utero. Our dads are bestest friends, and she has been with me at all of the important points in my life (including the thirty hours of labor and delivery of my son). She is wonderful. But she is ONE. (I think maybe Zack was around a bit too, back then! So maybe they were TWO!) Even though we had our first shop back in my home town, I didn't really have close ties there any more. Jason and I were essentially building a new life.
Our future coffee shop is something I envision as a gathering place, a "hub" if you will, of our community. A place for friends to gather, relax, laugh, play, learn, connect. Through our blog, and our conversations, I feel like our friends- old and new, close and far- are truly fellow journeyers on this caravan. They have a stake in it, they have a very important part to play, and that's EXACTLY how I want it to be.
I want each and every one of you to feel like you own a piece of this dream. This will be OUR coffee shop. Yes, yours and mine... Your family's and my family's. We promise to run it well, to listen to your thoughts, entertain your ideas, to utilize your expertise. We will open after hours to host your daughter's sixteenth birthday party, your fortieth anniversary, your husband's retirement party, your Goddess group, and your Dungeons and Dragons club. We promise to be ready with a warm cup and a comfortable chair. We will do this for you... but more importantly, we will be able to do this BECAUSE of you.
Thank you...
(And weather you thought it tasty or not, writing this post was delicious.)
Love you. Support you. Always. It is an honor to have you as a friend.
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