I love being with people who say yes to coffee after a meal. Saying yes shows they aren’t in a hurry to go home or on to the next thing… it says they want more.  More conversation. More time together. More being in the moment. 

Sometimes at the end of a meal, I’m the one thinking about the next thing I’m planning on doing. When a friend says yes to coffee, it has a powerful way of catching my attention and redirecting my thoughts back to whom I am with.

Recently, I was with a group of girlfriends sitting at the Top of the East. We were enjoying a late lunch after seeing a show. Everyone had finished their meals and out over Casco Bay the sun was lowering in the sky. The early dinner crowd was coming in and I found myself thinking about the laundry at home and the twenty other things I wanted to get done. And then the waitress came back to clear our plates and asked if we wanted coffee or dessert. I was already digging out my wallet to pay and then…one friend said yes to coffee. And with a twinkle in her eye, not just coffee, but Irish coffee. All thoughts of that to do list went away and I found myself saying yes along with the others.

And just like that, I was not in a hurry. I sat back with gratitude for the friend who by saying yes to coffee, kept this circle of women together a bit longer. I realized that saying yes to the coffee also meant we were all saying yes to each other. We were saying:

Yes, you are important.

Yes, you make me laugh. 

Yes, you matter.

Yes, you are loved.

So, cheers to friends who say yes and remind us that staying in the moment matters. And a bit of Jameson doesn’t hurt either.