March 2: Pit Stop

Except for the rare no school day or personal time, my morning routine is pretty much the same every single morning of every single week. I get up, kiss my wife goodbye, wake the kids, make them breakfast, see that they're dressed and hair combed, drive them to school and then back home where I start my work day. Some days, I'll do a bit of work before the kids wake up or perhaps run a quick errand on my way back from the drop-off at school; just to mix things up a bit. Now, let me make one thing clear, I'm not complaining. I'm just saying that mornings for me are pretty ordinary. Which is probably why making one minor change to that routine this morning is something that I deem worthy enough to write an entire blog entry about. What I did is nothing spectacular, and it's something I've done a hundred times before. Just not since I started working from home full time. "What is it?" your probably asking yourself with joyful curiosity, "what did he do?". I simply cruised through the Starbuck's drive-thru and treated myself to a Vanilla Latte. Yes, this morning was a new dawn! Since I began telecommuting, many a times I've considered this stop, only to look back at the Starbucks sign in the rear view mirror with a heavy heart having chosen a meeting, phone call or deadline over a warm cup of coffee and eyes wide open, ready to take on even the toughest of work days. I decided today would not be one of those days...no longer would I sacrifice the sweet taste of a vanilla coffee blend for the sake of "the man" (that and I didn't have anything on my agenda until later in the morning). It felt good...liberating, if you will. And, who knows? Tomorrow, I may decide this was the start of a new routine and return to the drive thru for another. Perhaps the next day, as well. And, every day thereafter...until my gift card finally runs out. At that point, I'll probably just go back to the Trader Joe's blend we brew at home. Seriously, who pays 4.95 of their own, hard-earned money for a latte every morning?