Coffee is a necessity; pay it forward often

Sometimes you wake up in the morning and things are just not going your way. Maybe the dog has peed on the floor, so, now you have wet socks, the cat trips you as your heading upstairs for your first cup of coffee, the coffee maker never ran because the power went out (or you forgot to set it), and one of your kids has managed to plug the toilet. There just isn’t enough time to get everything fixed and everyone ready to head to school.

So there you are, on your early morning trip into work; stressed out, no coffee,  already you’re at the end of your rope. And it’s only 8:15am. So, you pull into your quick fix location for breakfast (mine just happens to be BK) and you order that life affirming, caffeine-filled beverage you needed 50 minutes ago and a small breakfast item.

As you wait in line, you wonder if you’ll ever make it to work, because at breakfast time it is always busy. You finally pull up to the window, you’re greeted kindly, and then informed that the person ahead of you has so very nicely paid for your coffee and breakfast burrito. Whoa, my day just took a 180. But what do you do? Do you pay for the next person in line? Is there anyone behind you? (of course there is; breakfast is always busy.) Do you take the chance that the guy behind you just ordered 99 breakfast items for the corporate office or construction site or just go for it? Whatever you decide your day is already better, so why not, as the old adage goes, pay it forward. So, I put 5 bucks toward the next guy in line. Maybe he’ll use it all, or maybe it will buy a few people that saintly black elixir that you and I crave every morning. Either way, it feels good to give and be given to. To the man or woman in front of me this morning, I thank you for the gift of coffee on an otherwise stressful morning.