Immediate Concerns

In some ways, traveling and staying in places far from home can be a bit traumatic.  For me, one of the weightiest concerns is waking early in the morning.  Mind you, the waking part isn’t all that disconcerting—it’s lying there wondering how and where I will get my first cup of coffee.

Not having coffee in the morning is simply unimaginable.

That girl and I are presently staying with her sister, brother-in-law, and their son, Taylor.  Within a few days of staying here, I learned from keen observation (coffee stalking) that the first person to wake and move about the house brews coffee.  Unfortunately, I tend to wake a bit earlier than everyone else.

For the last few days I have had to get out of bed, poke at my computer for a bit, and wait for someone to wake so I could sneak out and grab a cup of coffee.

This morning, because our window was open throughout the night, I woke early to a ridiculously happy bird in my ear.

“#*%# you, bird!” I thought.  And I lay there waiting to hear the sound of someone brewing coffee.

At first, I heard nothing.

Fortunately, Taylor drives a small truck with an exceptionally loud exhaust system.  Well, technically, the loud exhaust is not the fortunate part.  The fortunate part was hearing Taylor’s truck firing up and then sputtering in the drive outside.

There was coffee in the immediate universe!

I snuck downstairs and grabbed my first cup of coffee.  I have since snuck more.

Now this: What if I run out of coffee before someone else wakes?

--Mitchell Hegman