Overheard at Starbucks

On a layover in the Las Vegas airport I stopped at the Starbucks after supper for a latte and some cake. While I was standing in line the young lady in front of me was on her cell phone. This is what I heard.

"Hi. Dad. What was that drink we got at Starbucks? I really liked it and I can't remember what I got. Yeah. I'm in Las Vegas at the airport and they have a Starbucks. What? Oh, great. Thank! Bye, love you."

She turned around and saw the smile on my face and we both had a good laugh.

I couldn't help but about last year when I was getting breakfast at McDonalds with my 14 year old son. I ordered coffee and he goes, "Dad, when did you start drinking coffee?"

"When I stopped going to church I decided to try it and have been drinking it since."

"Oh. Me too. Get me a large one."

Funny how the guilt and shame that TSCC cultivates around otherwise harmless activities can cause us to miss these pleasant shared experiences.

It also reminded me how nice it is to be able to sit down with a friend for a cup of coffee and just talk. Of course, most of my friends think that drinking coffee is a grave sin, so I've only that once.

I've been in San Jose the whole week on business and last night a met at the bar of my favorite restaurant there with the CEO of a customer and a VP of my company. There was something nice about sitting there and drinking a beer with them and enjoying their company without having the uncomfortable undertone in my mind of thinking how sad it was to be at a bar drinking an alcoholic beverage. The change was really inside of me. The CEO didn't drink anything but water. But previously this would have been an uncomfortable situation with me and now it's not.

It's just wierd, and a little startling, to reflect on how differently I see the world and common situations now as a former Mormon than I did when I was active and believing. I feel more at ease and comfortable with non-Mormons.