Jane and the Cup of Coffee

Jane is a busy college student. Every morning she stops by Mel’s, the little college town diner that also happens to be the closest place to get her morning caffeine fix. She runs through the door, which rings as she opens it, and grabs a cup of coffee. She allows herself to spend no more than two minutes at the diner; she is only there to grab her caffeine fix and get moving. Jane usually requests one or two espresso shots in her order, and she always takes it in a to-go cup. Running to class strictly on schedule, she sips her caffeine through the plastic top.

“What would I do without Mel’s diner?” Jane thinks as she arrives at her 8am class. “I would still be asleep right now if it weren’t for my morning cup of caffeine.”

When finals week rolls around, Jane is more stressed than ever. She wakes up at 5am and frantically writes her to-do list for the day: two tests to study for, a paper to write, a project to complete…

“I’m gonna need an extra large coffee today,” Jane thinks. “With two shots of espresso.”

She sprints to the diner. Out of breath, she requests, “one extra large coffee with two espresso shots.” She stops for a moment to catch her breath, then continues, “to go.” The waitress responds, “I’m so sorry ma’am, but we’re out of to-go cups.”

“What do you mean, out of to-go cups?”

“I’m so sorry.” she repeats. “I can make your coffee in a mug. You’ll have to drink it inside the diner.”

“Well, I guess I don’t have a choice,” Jane thinks. As she waits for her coffee to be made, she pulls out her planner and starts revising her plan for the day. Step 1: drink coffee as quickly as possible and get to the library. Jane can’t help but stress when she realizes her whole day will be behind by five minutes. The waitress delivers her mug and the first thing that runs through her head is, “time to inhale this as quickly as possible.” But when she looks at the cup of coffee, she pauses. She notices that there is a heart drawn on the top with cream. She has never noticed that before.

Jane smiles and looks up from her planner. She smiles again as she notices the quaint, old fashioned decorations that adorn Mel’s diner. Another detail she had failed to appreciate so many times. At that moment, Jane decides that she is not going to drink her coffee as quickly as possible. Instead, she is going to enjoy it.

Jane has never taken the time to stop and enjoy her morning cup of coffee before. She has never noticed how delicious the coffee from Mel’s diner is. There was never time to notice that when she was on the go, to-go cups in hand. But today, she sips her coffee joyfully. And with every sip, she feels less stressed. Jane finishes her coffee, then she buys some macarons and a croissant for breakfast. She knows she has the fuel to get her work done later in the day, but for now, she is not worrying about it.

She decides that she will come back to Mel’s, her new favorite diner again. But next time, she will spend more than five minutes there. She will order her coffee in a mug, then she’ll sit down and enjoy it. She’ll appreciate the beautiful heart and let it inspire her as she begins her day.

As Jane finishes her breakfast and leaves the diner to begin her work, she thinks, “wow, I’m so glad they were out of to-go cups!”