“Today’s Special at Starbucks” by Carolann Schatti

We got up super early to get that Starbuck’s Special Editions Holiday Cup. I did it for my daughters’ benefit. I don’t even like Starbucks coffee.

We arrived precariously ahead of the masses. At 7:00 a.m. we placed our orders with the overworked, (and underpaid) barista. At 7:10 a.m. . all three of us sleepy-headed ladies were in the queue waiting the call of my name signaling the “grande” finale of our completed beverages.

At last a barista called out “Carol!”

Ha, I thought to myself, how very Christmas friendly is my name! How appropriate. Surely there was enough free holiday cups left to house each of our drinks? My Eggnog Latte Grande came to me first, (a first for me in the history of going anywhere for anything with my daughters!). I proudly sauntered past the now enormously grown line-up of wanna be getting my Starbucks holiday cup.

The woman nearest to me, positively glared at me while I put the finishing touches into my coffee at the bar. I knew what she was thinking: “Damn! That chick got a holiday cup – what about me? Am I gonna get mine? Do I need to grab hers and run?”

I looked back over my shoulder to check on my teenage chicks. They were both glowing with happiness as they found their way to the “fixer upper” coffee bar I was standing at. My daughter walked towards me and approached the stand to add some more cinnamon to her Caramel-Mocha Java.

Her sister behind her laughed out loud while catching my eye. “Mama! I got the cup!

Green Tea Iced Matcha,” she added.

I knew what she meant – hers was a healthier choice – most certainly not “diabetes in a cup,” a phrase I’d often used for any beverage made and purchased outside our home.

As we pushed our way through the line-up blocking the exit door, I wanted to think I could be the cool mom rising, I wanted to think I’d been resurrected during this trip to Starbucks, once again the mom of their earlier childhood, the one they used to like.

My eldest daughter sat next to me while I drove us back to the house so we could get ready for work and school. She said: “Ma, what were you thinking? You ordered an Eggnog Latte! You broke the rule of never getting Eggnog before December.”

She had always been the listener, the observer, and the obedient one. I managed to sputter a line of truth, (not that she cared); “I only meant no eggnog in the carton bought from the grocery store until December.” My excuse was met with an exaggerated eye-roll, the shrug, the “whatever” sort of body language that both daughters have perfected lately.

As we rolled into our driveway, my younger teen startled me. She’s the quiet one and for a moment I’d forgotten she was there. She said, “Thank you, Mama.”

“You’re welcome,” I said as I fought back tears and thought to myself, Thank you, Starbucks.

Carolann Schatti is enjoying some of her spare time to write about her various adventures with friends and family. She resides in Stoney Creek, Ontario and lives with her two teen daughters, husband and standard poodles.

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