What Do You Do When Someone Invades Your Space?

All of these people were at our Starbucks yesterday. O.k…well maybe I am exaggerating a tiny bit….Read on….

We have had a weird couple of days here…Spent the morning at the VA hospital yesterday, at the pain clinic. Since they have no real idea of what is causing Marc’s pain, and they have given him all of the meds they can, they are trying to teach him ways of just living with it. It was not what we wanted to hear but what we expected to.

So, on the way home, knowing that flooding was forecast, we stopped to OUR Starbucks. By the way..OUR Starbucks is the one in De Soto, Texas, on Pleasant Run and Hampton. (Hi Chris!)

We walked in and ordered our coffee and turned to sit in *our* comfy chairs. Not the hard wooden ones, oh no. The soft, FLUFFY chairs. We were planning on discussing how we are going to relocate ourselves to a place further out in the country.

As we turned to get the chairs a very energetic thirty something in workout gear slid by us and grabbed the chairs and then started taking every available wooden chair in the place.

I am telling you, this woman did not NEED coffee. I think the seating, and the service, at Starbucks should be based on need, by the way. So she zips around grabbing chairs, having all ready snagged the comfy ones, and all of a sudden the place is filled with chattering and noise….and more thirty somethings in workout gear. Dear God, it was a convention!

If you live in the country you will be able to identify with the sound of a huge flock of blackbirds taking over your trees, right? Well that is the sound that was emanating from these women. Loud, energetic, no=one-exists-but-me sounds. BLAH! We sat and waited for our caramel macchiatos, extra whipped cream, and tried to discuss our options over the noise….that is until they started bringing their kids in.

“Sweetie, come to mommy”

Did you ever notice that when kids are named *Sweetie*, or *Punkin* they are raging, unsupervised, undisciplined brats? Besides, I think children under the age of 14 or so have no reason to be in a coffee house. That is why McDonalds started serving gourmet coffees, people. SO that irritable adults did not have to deal with kids. Taking a child into a Starbucks is akin to a woman waltzing into the men’s restroom at a wrestling match.

We quickly canceled our order, got our money back and left. Note to self- never on Tuesdays at 10.

Now, please understand, I have 8 kids…2 grandkids. I have done kids church, coordinated nursery, and been involved in other children’s ministry…I LOVE kids.

But when Marc and I want to get away from our kids, to have peace and quiet and discuss something…we don’t want to deal with anyone else’s kids.

So we headed tot he OTHER Starbucks, on I-35 and Beltline, by the way. Walked in and immediately was. not. impressed.

Maybe it was leftover frustration from having been kicked out of *our* Starbucks. Maybe it was the really pitiful drinks we were served.

So I had the guy my ceramic cup. I take my Starbucks cup because the paper ones are bad for the environment, and I have touch sensitivity. There are textures I just cannot handle. Foam and paper cups are two of those textures.

So I ordered caramel macchiato, extra whipped cream, grande. Two of them. The guy grabs my cup and then starts to make them in the paper…

NO!

Set him straight..and he hands Marc his caramel macchiato…the cup is half full and there is a small tablespoon of whipped cream on top.

RIGHT-O.

Mine looks a little better, and the guy warns me to be careful because it is hot..I took a gulp of the lukewarm stuff and resisted the urge to chug it and slam the cup down on the counter Western style, and demand another… It was that kind of day.

If you are EVER in my area of Texas and you EVER have the urge for Starbucks…and it is 10 a.m. on a Tuesday….Drive 20 miles south to Waxahachie and hit the Starbucks there.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.