Coffee Date

It should come to no surprise for my long time readers that coffee shops play a large role in my life. Particularly, Starbucks. (Although, in my defense, we don't have a whole lot of other options in the town I live in. There is one other coffee place I really like, but it's sort of out of the way of where I tend to spend my days. Therefore, Starbucks gets most of my business.) There is something peaceful and nostalgic about coffee shops. Maybe it's because many of my college memories are from weekly walks to Caribou Coffee nearby, or watching Friends too much as a kid. Who knows? It's not just about getting coffee. It's sitting down with an old friend (or a new one!) and catching up on life. It's finding a place to go when it's cold and rainy outside and you need to warm up. Or maybe just to clear your mind and get lost in a good book for awhile with a hot drink in your hand. 

Or maybe I just have watched Friends too much.

Source

When Kayleigh from A Million Little Somethings started to host "virtual coffee dates" on her blog, naturally I decided I wanted to join her!

We exchange ten questions to ask each other. She posts my answers on her blog, and her answers are here on mine. What was really fun about this one, is that it didn't feel like a typical "ask the blogger random questions" or of thing. We asked each other questions that dug deeper - like they really would if you were sitting next to one another. As I read her answers, I wished we really were seeing each other face to face so we could chat. She answered so honestly, and I hope you listen and take to heart what she has to share the way I did.

So, I'm going to set up the scene for you. Just as though we really were meeting at my local Starbucks.

The door shuts behind me as I hurry inside. After the nice 60+ degree weather we had over the weekend, dropping back down to the 30's make the outdoors feel even colder than usual. Which is why there is the indoors. As Sheldon Cooper once said, "If the outdoors were so great, then why has mankind spend thousands of years perfecting the inside?" Well said, sir.

Kayleigh is already sitting down at one of the two person tables and she smiles warmly to me and waves. I smile back and place my coat on the back of the empty chair next to her. I say that I'm going to go get my drink and will be right back.

I leave my things at the table, other than my cell phone. (Yay for the Starbucks app!) The barista greets me warmly, saying my name, and we chit chat a bit about how the day is going and the dreary January weather. I order a grande soy vanilla latte. 

Photo taken by me.

Once I have my drink I sit back down again to chat with Kayleigh. She looks so cute with her brown hair and glassed perched on her nose. She's drinking a raspberry Italian soda. We begin with her questions for me which she will post onto her blog. I think about each one carefully and try to give her my most honest answers. Then we move onto what I have to ask her.

Me: If you could pack up and go anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?

Kayleigh:  I really don't know. I used to really have the travel bug really bad...but that has gradually decreased as time has gone by. I recently read a book (I still have to blog about it...) and there was a quote in it that said "the only place you need to see before you die is the place of seeing God, here and now." I know that doesn't really answer your question...but right now that is the only answer I can think of, the only place I want to be. That was the first thing I thought of when I read your question.

Me: You've probably talked about this in your blog, but in case I missed it, what's your faith story? Did you grow up in it? Did you come into it later in life? 

Kayleigh: Well, I grew up in a Christian family and attended church every Sunday and Wednesday. But it kind of stopped there for me. I never realized that there was anything missing from my spiritual life. I thought going through the actions of Christianity was enough. But then in junior high I began to face sexual harassment at school. I had to deal with a lot of jerks who just wanted to be jerks and a lot of school officials who couldn't be bothered to do anything about it. All I was told is that "it will get better in high school." But when it didn't I fell into a really deep depression and was actually suicidal for a lot of my teenage years. After high school I took a trip out to California and spent time with family there. My cousins' relation with the Lord just sparkled from them, I had never really been around that before. You know,when people love the Lord so much it just kind of flows out of them. Being around them made everything kinda click when it came to the things that I had learned about the Lord throughout my life. I accepted Christ as the Lord of my life when I was out there and I have learned so much since then. It's not like there was an immediate change, it was a slow process for me...but pursuing a closer personal relationship with Christ has been the number one most rewarding things I could ever do or invest in.

Me: What song/album is playing on repeat right now?

Kayleigh: Matthew West's Into the Light. I got it a few weeks ago and I love it! It is the best Christian album I have gotten in a long time. He is such a talented singer/songwriter. Every song is wonderful!

Me: You're getting married this year! Yay! What has been the best part of wedding planning? 

Kayleigh: Ummmm, THE DRESS! Omygosh, that was fun. My sister and I actually went to a wedding salon to "look at bridesmaid dress colors" before my official appointment and I was so convinced I had found "THE dress." But we went to my actual appointment and found something completely different and I couldn't be happier. It is a private collection dress which means there are no pictures of it online...I love that! I obviously can't share pictures...but you should look forward to seeing them after I get married because the dress is AMAZING. The bridesmaid dresses are the same way, they aren't online. The fashion lover in me likes that a lot! :)

Me: OK.... now the WORST part of wedding planning!

Kayleigh: All the little details and working with so many different voices. Where I sit right now I am completely overwhelmed with everything I have yet to do. I mean, I know it will get done but it is really easy to get wound up in all the details and the potential conflicts that come up. My fiance and I want our wedding to to be about starting our life together and bringing glory to the Lord, but it is really easy to loose focus during the planning process. I wish that was easier.

Me: What traditions do you hold near and dear to your heart?

Kayleigh: I don't really have that many traditions persay...I am really looking forward to starting some traditions with my soon-to-be-hubby. Basically all of my traditions with holidays now relate to food and eating and watching movies, stuff like that. I really look forward to figuring out our traditions for holidays as a new family and figuring out how to glorify God as a big part of our holidays.

Me: What scares you about getting married? If anything?

Kayleigh: Nothing really. The most apprehension I have is mostly about moving seven hours away from where I live now. It's just kinda fun/exciting/scary to think about so many changes happening at once. I'm not really afraid, I know that God is with me and I will have my best friend by my side. It's really just the one thing that I have nerves about.

Me: What lessons do you think God is trying to teach you this week?

Kayleigh: A lot. Some things were shown to me about myself this week and I have been doing a lot of soul searching and praying to try to figure how to work though some things so that I can grow closer to Jesus and be the woman He wants me to be. I haven't worked through it enough to feel comfortable blogging about it quite yet...but I hopefully will in the near future.

Me: In honor of awards season, what have been some of your favorite movies of the past year and why?

Kayleigh: Hands down, Les Miserables. I looked forward to it all year long...and while there were some things about the movie that disappointed with some things about it, all in all it was worth the wait. I did read the book this year as well so that just made it all that much better to me. I love the story so much and the music is so powerful!!

Me: What is one wish/hope you have for this week?

Kayleigh: This week, I hope/it is my goal that I get all the details for my wedding ceremony worked out. You know, like who is singing/playing  piano/reading scripture/controlling sound etc. I guess I also hope I can survive working three 16hr days in a row this weekend!!

As we finish our conversation, I notice my latte is down to the bottom and turning luke-warm, and I notice that it's probably time to return to "normal life" soon. We say goodbye, glad we were able to meet, and sad it has to end. While I climb into my car I wish coffee dates like this could happen more often. However, since we are internet friends and live far away from one another, this conversation never actually happened. We simply sent emails back to each other, imagining we truly were in a coffee shop.

Don't forget to head over to A Million Little Somethings to see what questions Kayleigh asked me and how I answered!