I'd slap somebody's momma for a cup of coffee.

 It's amazing how you don't want something until someone else wants it. It never fails. Last April in preparation for quitting my job to travel the country and letting go of my apartment (and any sense of security), I threw a come take my stuff party and I'm going to have to say, it was so fun. Over time, I/we all accumulate this...stuff. Stuff we don't need, don't use, don't want. We move it from place to place, knowing that eventually we'll use it, you know how it is, this is not a new revelation. So I set up a "store" in my living room, as you will, and invited people to come over and shop. I kept hearing, "you're getting rid of this?", "are you sure", yes yes I would say, just take it. There was one item, however, that I had put in the store that someone wanted, but they would be picking it up later. Almost a year later, I still have this item, the individual still wants it, and it is their birthday. Having no real attachment to this item, it had been my plan all along to get it into their hands. The day comes for the birthday party and I absolutely do not want to part with it. Where is this coming from? I tell myself that I had grown attached to having it on my porch and seeing it daily, but had I really? Did I all of a sudden feel attachment to it because someone else wanted it? because I had placed it in the give-away pile more than once. Reluctantly, I give the item away, in part because of this year of giving, in part because they want it, and in part because my actions have made it clear that I don't really want it, and definitely don't need it. After all, I give what I have right? This person couldn't have been more ecstatic. They were SO happy, which in turn, makes me happy. I'm sure you must be wondering what item could cause so much grief? Well, I will tell you, a stupid little plastic Dracula doll. Yep, you read it right.
 This morning, I woke up, checked Facebook, per the usual. I don't really read much, and usually only look at my own wall, because I find my own life so entertaining, but today, one post caught my eye. An individual around my own age, who has been in and out of the hospital for several years, was once again confined inside the hospital walls. Her Facebook post and I quote, says "I'd slap somebody's momma for a cup of coffee". Well, it wasn't so much that I needed my momma slapped as it was that I would die if I was trapped inside the hospital without access to an iced Americano every day. Now I can't say that I've ever called this person or even thought about hanging out with her. What I can say is that I have judged her (in the past), wrongfully so, as we often do when we don't know someone or when they do things that we don't understand. But today honestly had nothing to do with that. It simply had to do with one coffee lover to another. I took her a coffee, helped her outside and we sat in the sun and chatted. I allowed myself to hear her. I mean hear her. You know, when you remove all pre-conceived ideas, all judgements, all personal thoughts, all the you should's and the you should've's? And she, has had one heck of a year, or two or three. She was Code Blue (essentially dead, if you are unfamiliar with that term) for 30 minutes last summer, after a miss dosing of medication. They were getting ready to stop efforts in reviving her when she came to. And here she sits today. Incredible.

Lesson: You don't have to slap my momma to get a cup of coffee.