True Story. Well, almost.
{Some names and likenesses have been changed to protect the innocent and the crazy.}
Great! In about five minutes, I would be sipping my coffee, ordering breakfast and networking. Good start to the morning.
Wrong!
As I mentioned before, things were not set as usual. Normally, the coffee and mugs and ice water are already set out for the group by the time the first person gets there around 7:00 am. I got there just before 7:15 am and still nothing had been set out. After I joked about the coffee, it was only moments before a couple of carafes appeared on the table. And I hadn't sat down yet! Perfect!
Then, it happened. I sat down and watched the new server bring out what looked to be 20 water glasses and a pitcher of tepid water. This was straight from the tap, nothing special water. Okay.... We'll make it through. It's only water. Plus, I had my breakfast coupon this morning; so, no full price meal for me today. Awesome!
Wrong, again!
I decided to get up and grab myself a cup of the tepid water because I do like to have water with my meal usually. It's good to rinse the coffee and salt from breakfast down. I had been sitting for only a few minutes with the carafe of coffee placed right in front of me, but alas, I had no mug. When I got up to get my water, I saw the servers just outside the door of the meeting room heading the other direction. I quickly caught one of their attention and said, "Excuse me. We could use some coffee mugs when you get a chance."
Her response through me for a loop. "We'll be right there," she said shortly and snidely.
Okay...
I sat down and vented. My neighbor said that I needed to calm down. Calm down! How could I calm down! I just want my {insert expletive(s)} coffee and I need a mug to drink it out of. What am I supposed to drink the coffee straight from the carafe? I was ready to; that's how much I wanted coffee.
Anyway, so the meeting went on and I participated as an active member of the group. By this point, I had decided not to eat breakfast here, just drink about three cups of coffee since I got my mug. Oh, yeah. I did finally get my mug.
By the end of the meeting, I said something that my neighbor took offense to. It was one of those moments when you hear the words coming out, you know you should stop, and you can't stop. It becomes like an out-of-body experience. Man, did I feel terrible! What was happening? I wanted to find the closest rock I could find and crawl under it. No amount of apologies or retractions could help me save face. I just felt so bad.
About an hour after the meeting, my neighbor and I talked over the phone and cleared up what can be described as a moment that pretty much everyone has had at one time in their lives. Work, life, and everything in between added up to something as trivial as a cup of coffee.
So, here is the conclusion I came to after an incredibly daunting morning. These mornings are usually fun and productive. This morning was decidedly not! It happens. We all have these moments when our brain has left and words expose the evil inside. I am not saying we are evil. What I am saying here is that without our connection to our soul, our brain thinks weird things. These are the times when we are disconnected. We make our greatest mistakes in this vulnerable stage. The key I recognized today is knowing that it's not about the coffee. I also learned that sometimes just keeping quiet and sitting there in observation is the best path. I can't take back what I said. I can't take back the profanity in the moment. I can't replace the feelings I had this morning. I can learn from what happened and recognize the warning signs when they start to rear their ugly evilness again.
Remember to connect to your inner soul. Because, let's face it! There really isn't enough coffee!
