I've touched on this subject before, but here I go again.

There was a day in the last year or two, where my husband and I had a conversation about friendships. We've gone through frustrations of "why do we have to always be the ones to visit" or "why do we always have to plan things" or "we seem to be the only ones that care about this." But I think we made those comments because we thought maybe we should feel that way, but the truth is, we don't mind. So we were having a conversation about some of our friendships and we made an active decision during that conversation.

No matter how inconvenient it seems, no matter how "one-sided" it appears, it is our job to reach out, to make plans, to visit, and not necessarily expect anything in return. Now, there are some people that we will never be good friends with, and that's fine, we won't push it. But, we have a good sense about who is worth maintaining friendships with. And we have agreed that we will continue to make this effort. Our relationships are the most important things in our lives. Now, sometimes you have to pick which ones are more important.

For the last couple of years, we have made a pretty big effort to make sure we are able to create friendships within CR, our new home, so that we can make it a good place for us to live. That has definitely meant not traveling to see other friends as much, and, frankly, we only have so much time in our lives. However, we continue to strike a pretty good balance of making sure we spend time with friends at home, further away, and of course, our family. That's not the easiest thing in the world either, because although not far, our family is a little spread out. I also recognize that this way of doing things doesn't work for everyone. My husband and I have made an active decision on this, and it works for us, because it is in both of our strengths set to maintain relationships and be givers of our time and energy. We are also both extroverts, getting our energy from others, and so although it can still be tiring to travel or host people, we thrive on it. That is not how everyone functions! For us, it works out well, and we can share our love, and get our own energy from operating this way. This is how we stay balanced and happy in our lives.

Starbucks

I find an odd amount of joy by going to Starbucks. I mean, yes, they do provide me my daily dose of caffeine, which is totally necessary. But beyond that, there is always something I find to make me smile. 

First of all, kudos to the baristas. I don't think I've ever had an unpleasant barista. They really have the customer service thing down! And really, I interact with the barista for less than one minute probably total. Take order, take money, have a nice day. And even with that they always seem to make me smile. 

I have also heard that Starbucks is an excellent place to work. They give benefits to even their part time employees, good pay, etc. Starbucks is my backup plan. I have thought, for many years already, that some day I need to work at a Starbucks. I need to be a part of what gives me so much happiness, and see why the baristas are always so happy! Do they really like their jobs so much? And if so, I'm in! But seriously, whether its a part time job while the kids are at school, or a retirement gig when I'm old, jobless when we relocate for Chris's job? I'm going straight to the nearest Starbucks. Do you think I'm qualified? My last retail/customer service job was at Panera in high school... but I have a master's degree, and I know my lattes, so I think I can cut it as a barista.

Oh yeah, Starbucks is also a sponsor of really great humanitarian efforts, creating jobs in America, building greener stores, and free trade coffee. Too bad their coffee is so expensive. Unfortunately, it is also superb. I guess that's pretty good business.

My favorite Starbucks experience? Oh wait, I have two. See? I told you I loved this place. First one: Going to the first Starbucks in Seattle. Now those have got to be the superior baristas. The place is always packed with tourists of course, so there was a greeter who told you which line to go in, the person that took your order and the person that gave you your coffee. They had it down to an art, and in those 45 seconds, still managed to ask you where you are from, etc. What an interesting place to work! I bet you would meet so many interesting people. My second favorite Starbucks experience is when someone in front of me paid for my drink. I've done this before, especially around Christmas time, but man did it make my day when it was done for me. What a wonderful tradition that Starbucks has encouraged, random acts of kindness. Nothing better than giving back a little hope for an overall rundown society. 

Genius: http://www.starbucks.com/about-us/company-information/mission-statement