Confessions of a Coffee Drive-Thru Addict. { How the belly laughers AND Mr. Grumpy Pants have been changing my life.}

Lately, I really enjoy iced coffee. TOO MUCH.

I mean, it’s just a tad bit SCORCHING OUTSIDE.

So as I drive, and my entire body feels like it is melting in to my black leather car seat, (P.S, JESUS, Thank you, thank you, thank you for a functioning air conditioner in my sweet lil car. If I could write thank you in the cutest bubble letters and fly them on a banner above my car for you, I would. Well, I guess I COULD. But for now, I’m just blowing kisses up to Heaven. I’m so thankful) I can often feel all of the Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, Scooters, Cranes, and McDonalds, just calling out my name.

I USUALLY give in to the call.

Sometimes I’m strong and I #justsayno.

But here’s something that just got me thinking the other day…..

DO I EVEN LIKE THE ICED COFFEE THAT MUCH?! I’m pretty sure this stuff is dehydrating me. I don’t think this is necessarily helping me to beat the heat. This is probably making me feel worse. This is probably actually causing me to melt into my sizzling seat (shout out to the LORD once again for air conditioning…but it’s still HOT ya’ll) at an even faster pace.

Then it dawns on me….

I think I’m actually just addicted to the whole drive-thru EXPERIENCE.  And let’s be real, I’m just ordering the iced coffee because…..  Who wants a ginormous and greasy big mac or a pastry just hanging out in their stomach on days that are already insanely greasy and hot already?  

  I think I have traced my love for the drive-thru back to one spring day when I was going to school in Lincoln. Guess what I was getting? Surprise! A medium iced coffee with sugar free vanilla sweetener. McDonald’s.  I don’t exactly remember the details, but this sweet older lady took my order. When I got to the window, I was actually surprised by the enthusiasm that came out of me. I think I just practically screamed “ THANK YOU SO MUCH!” She was doubly surprised.  We just sat there and laughed and laughed and laughed. She was absolutely tickled.  I remember my ENTIRE DAY was totally brightened. Driving away, I was thinking that my life suddenly felt like a real-life McDonald’s commercial, or the beginning of a cheesy movie. I just needed some cheerful and inspirational background music to be playing out loud, possibly some cute puppies to come skipping by, or some jolly kids to whiz by on roller blades or something like that….

I was just so happy because I kept thinking: “ That lady probably really feels like her job is super important.” It is.

I remember having a similar experience with my dad once, too. We drove through, and for some reason, this guy just thought we were hysterical.  I think it was one of those instances where we were accidentally  overly enthusiastic again. We could still hear him laughing when we drove away.  And he had one of those CONTAGIOUS belly laughs. The absolute best! Too funny!

Ok, so obviously I’m not always THAT enthusiastic when I get my coffee. BUT, I still feel the anticipation as I go to order. I feel like I’m going to meet a new friend. The worker takes my order, and I can hear their voice. I feel like they kind of know me…. they know I’m just one of those girls “addicted to iced coffee.” But then the big reveal happens at the window. You never know what you’re gonna get. Sometimes it’s Mr. Grumpy Pants. Sometimes it’s someone who seems bored out of his or her mind.  There have been times when I think OH this person is so sad. There is the YELLER. Like, not the mean yeller but more the, “I’m trying to act excited to see you, but also trying to push you through this line,” yeller. Then there’s your sweet, calm, reassuring people. 

Regardless of who is at the window at the “big reveal,” something I have tried to be intentional about is to genuinely smile at the person and really look them in the eyes. I learned this one from my mama. She’s so great!

AND Guess what? It’s such a hoot. Like, you can see people’s countenances change instantly just from a simple smile and from taking the time to look them in the eyes. Sometimes, especially if it happens to be a Mr. Grumpy Pants, even their tone of voice will change. 

It makes me want to weep just thinking about it.  I can’t get over how impacted some people have seemed from something so simple.  One smile.

Here’s the reality. People want to feel noticed. They want to feel like what they are doing matters.

Here’s the thing about Jesus. He notices. He notices SO MUCH. He notices every detail. His eyes just burn with love for every human walking this planet. If one little smile can just play an itsy- bitsy part in communicating that, count me in.

SO for me, I guess drive-thrus are one way that I feel connected to Jesus’ “noticing” heart. I know I’m not some “drive thru hero” for doing this. For crying out loud, I live in the Midwest! People are SO kind and polite here.

I want us all to be encouraged that our smiles, eye contact, "thank you", and “noticing” really matter.

What if your smile gives somebody the hope that they need to keep pressing forward?

You just never know.

Plus, there’s that added bonus of a “supposedly refreshing but probably dehydrating” iced coffee.

So drive- thru on my friends……

And may you be met by some contagious belly laughter while you’re at it.

Room 118

February 22^nd.

Life really really changed for me.

I inherited a little family.

I mean, I knew I was just a long-term sub.

BUT you know the breath of God is over something when you randomly start thinking of a class you subbed for earlier in the month. And you start crying. And praying. And it’s like you can feel the rhythm of God’s heartbeat for a particular group of kids.  And then ten minutes later, this is NOT A JOKE, you get a call asking if you would be willing to take over that classroom until the end of the year.

Like, hello? WHAT?

So I showed up on my first day… Full of enthusiasm, freshly sharpened pencils, butterflies in my tummy, and some bubble gum bribery goods.

A few minutes in and….. CRASH! Stuff fell out of a cupboard onto my head. Uh-oh. Um… little fact about me… I just love organized things. I started feeling a bit nervous.

I kept on teaching, and a little girl raised her hand with a totally straight face and simply said: “ I’m bored.” And just like that, the enthusiasm started to sway like a little kid who can’t balance on a bike without training wheels. “Uhhhhh….NO! My name is Alyssa JOY for cryin out loud!  Fun is practically my middle name. And this classroom is going to be a FUN PLACE! Bored?!?! “( Disclaimer:Thankfully, these thoughts did not actually come out of my mouth.)

Kids poked at any button they could find.

They poked at my feet when I would read stories to them on the carpet. Like, seriously? Just stop.

 Expecting straight quiet lines in the hallway seemed like trying to teach Mandarin.

 Some days, chairs went flying and attitudes were raging. Playground dramas were brewing. Eyes were rolling. Kickers were kickin.   Miss G was a yellin( Something I swore I NEVER would do. Yell at kids? NO! pahahah I’m SO above that. #humilitytraining)  My blood pressure was rising. My tear ducts were flooding.  

“o, oo, uff, off, aw, ow”  I will forever hear the sounds of the phonogram “ough.”  It was the classes’ favorite phonogram to shout out with enthusiasm in our daily oral phonogram review. It gave me a chance in my head to scream what I was really feeling deep inside: “ o my word!” “oooooooo I have no idea what I’m doing!” “ ufff, I’m starting to get irritated.” “offfff…just please kids, for once, keep your hands off of my stuff.” “awwwww….I don’t know if I am gonna make it! “ “owwwww, my voice just hurts from trying to be heard up here, ya’ll”

“Sweet Lord Sustain me.  You carry me sweet Lord, you carry me on the wings of Love. Holy, Light of my face, You are welcome in this place.” A song we used to sing at Harvest School in Mozmabique seemed to be on repeat in my head.

“Just keep showing up, just keep showing up, just keep showing up, just keep showing up.” I would tell myself this on the hard mornings when I could barely peel myself out of bed.

And you know what I discovered? Showing up matters.

Little by little the kids started trusting me. They would say to me: “Sing to us, Miss G.  Can you sing to us?”

So for the kids who were feeling angry I would just sing: “ You’ve got joy joy joy deep in that heart! You’ve got joy joy joy deep in that heart.” Pretty soon the whole class was joining in singing to their classmates and cheering them on.

On the anxious days we would just sing about peace like a river. On days when we were feeling defeated I would sing “ You’re never gonna let, you’re never gonna let me down.”

Sometimes we are singing an anthem for others, but God is singing it right back into our own hearts to fuel us and keep us going. Funny how He does that.  

“Sometimes you just  gotta sing your way into the truth.” –Laura Hackett

 And you know what? Holding onto truth also matters. Because, joy started coming.

One day I fell off of my stool from laughing about a poem that the kids and I found to be absolutely hysterical.

Laughing fits  would randomly come because I would get overwhelmed by how PRECIOUS they were.

Kids would start saying the most hilarious and witty things at random moments when I really needed it.

One boy, with the most perfectly adorable and intense facial expressions I have ever encountered, stood up one day when I started laughing while telling them a story.

“ OK YOU ALL ! WE ALLLLLLL know what’s gonna happen. Miss G is gonna start laughing because she thinks we are funny. And she loves us. And she is gonna laugh SO HARD that her face turns RED!”

HA! He had it figured out.

The kids started realizing that they are funny. Funny in a good way.  That matters.

I started realizing that I’m funny. Like, ya’ll, I can make up a LEGIT rap about why it’s important to be quiet…. on the spot. We will make up a dance to anything, and  find ANY reason at all to speak in British or southern accents.

Life was meant to be full of finding the funny. Don’t you think? And especially in 2^nd grade. You only get your childhood once. And laughter should come as naturally as breathing.

Even with all of the breakthrough, there was one day that I still tried to quit. Sometimes I needed to call in for help so I could just go for a walk down the hallway and let the tears sneak out. Praise the LORD for awesome staff around me who are SO supportive. Seriously, some of the most amazing people I’ve ever met. Amazing, amazing, selfless people.  That’s another thing, just keep showing up, and you will start to see the “amazing” in people.

So tomorrow,  I will show up one last day with these 2^nd graders. I’m sure I will cry all the tears and hug all the big bear hugs.  I will laugh as I hear kids say “ I see the gold in you.” “You’re a world changer.”  I will feel proud when they cheer for a classmate who wins a prize rather than pouting when they aren’t a winner because we are “better together.,”It’s like all of those little “family meetings” where we talked about kindness actually soaked into their little brains and heart? WHAT?!

So tonight, I’m thankful that God gave me the grace to keep showing up.

Because…He shows up for me every day.

It's the least I could do. Really.