Grab a Cuppa: 40acts Day #10

You don’t have to ask me twice to grab a cup of coffee.  I’d say it’s one of my favourite hobbies.  Anytime I go visiting, I offer to pick up coffee (or tea) to take along with me.  It’s nice to sit and chat and share a cup.  There is something about the aroma and the comfort of holding the warm liquid that makes any visit feel warmer.

This morning I was thankful for grabbing a “cuppa.”   I accompanied Jake to a medical appointment in downtown Toronto.  He’s a cancer survivor and as a result there are always tests and appointments to go to.

The appointment was at 7:15 a.m. so we had to be sure to leave our house at 6:00 a.m. to get there in time. It was cold and dark this morning and I was nervous, which seemed to make the cold and dark seem that much more pronounced.  I could only imagine how Jake—the one actually going through the procedure—was feeling.

We traveled to the city together.  On our way we stopped at a coffee shop to pick up a giant latté to share for the road.  This was non-negotiable.   I am not a morning person by nature but with some coffee I can sort of fake it.

As we drove into the city the coffees eased the cold, the caffeine chased away some of the grogginess, and our conversation eased the nervousness.  We talked about what was happening with work, with family, with things in general.  It was nice to have the time to catch up.  We talked very little about the pending procedure.

We sipped the coffee all the way into the city where we managed to find a parking spot within walking distance of our destination.  It was cold and the first blast of wind on my face made me glad that at least my belly was still warm from the heat of the coffee.

While at the hospital I waited in the waiting area and played Plants vs. Zombies on my iPad.  It’s a game where a backyard becomes a battleground as plants fight to destroy zombies before they can make it to the house.  There was something strangely symbolic about playing that game in the hospital, a place that itself is a battleground where the common objective is indeed to keep various invaders at bay.

I made it through 20 rounds of zombies before Jake came back to the waiting area.

It was only 8:30 a.m…. too early to stop by the Big Carrot, too early for sushi, too early to catch a movie.

Happily, it wasn’t too early for a coffee.   And thus began our ride home.