It’s Time to Start My Day at the Coffee Shop near Me (Again)
The simple joy of drinking coffee in the company of other coffee lovers makes the trip to the coffee shop near me all worth it.
Coffee is non-negotiable. I wouldn’t date a guy who isn’t a coffee drinker.
I miss going to coffee shops, the small ones where you can still talk to the owner. I stopped going to Starbucks years ago, unless for a meeting or in a new town. Starbucks delivers the same coffee taste wherever you go.
We are still ‘living” in the pandemic. I am writing at home and most days, enjoying my pour over coffee all alone.
While I chat with family and friends daily, it is different when you have coffee with people you love and care for or even with consequential strangers you meet in coffee shops, from the barista or to the guy at the next table.
I miss going to the coffee shop.
Yesterday, I did just that, explore my new neighborhood. There must be a small coffee shop nearby, I asked myself. I am new in this area. I moved in here a month after my Mom died.
Even if I want to go out, the last 15 months have become too unpredictable that when the government tells you, the cases have gone up, if people like me who can stay at home, must stay at home. I stay at home, and on most days have coffee alone.
I saw what I was looking for, my neighborhood coffee shop. I love the name. It’s called Bloque 7, its mean block in Spanish, the coffee shop at Block 7.
I ordered coffee even if I just had coffee at home. But coffee starts the conversation.
I introduced myself to the owner, and while he was making my coffee, I asked how long he had this coffee shop and how business, considering the past 15 months hurt many small businesses.
He smiled, and he said he is still OK, until later when I guess, like myself, he was also looking for someone to talk to.
We talked about a lot of things, like our neighborhood, and because I am new here. He was very welcoming, and instantly you know it when you found your third space.
What is a third space?
Third places is a term coined by sociologist Ray Oldenburg and refers to places where people spend time between home (‘first’ place) and work (‘second’ place). They are locations where we exchange ideas, have a good time, and build relationships.
Most of us had a hard time navigating our feelings during the pandemic because we lost our third space.
Our homes became our workspace. Emotionally and mentally, it affected us, as virtual connections will never be good enough to compensate for real and meaningful relationships.
When did you last visit your local coffee shop? If you haven’t been lately, it’s time to start again.
The past 15 months continue to be a learning experience. We have lost people we love along the way, I lost my Mom last February, and I am sad most of the time.
Relationships are at risk. That is why divorce is on the rise. Even billionaire couples are not exempt. Who would have thought Bill Gates and Melinda Gates would divorce after 27 years.
But the most important relationship you need to take care of is your relationship with yourself.
Yesterday, I bravely chose to go out. And while I am very conscious of my own safety protocols. It was one of the best decisions I made in a recent while. We need to start living with the virus and not wait until it is all over because that day may never come. After this one, there could be a new one, and the next one.
While family and friends keep us grounded, we need consequential strangers in our lives. These people bring a different dimension into our lives.
Think of your family and friends as your strong ties, and consequential strangers as your weak ties, but did you know there is what is called, The Strength of Weak Ties?
They enrich our lives in ways our family, friends, and lovers will never be able to give us a sense of belonging to a bigger community, that we are part of humanity.
It is easy to love the people we love, but it is harder to love a stranger, and that is the lesson I learned yesterday while drinking my coffee in a coffee shop near me. I can love a stranger.