Joy

One of the things I love most about my wife is her joy. Spend any time with her, and it is hard not to be infected by it. This is her normal, every day way of life. Nonetheless, I can think of 4 moments in the 15 years I have known her when she shows unusual joy- really gets excited about something.

The first was the evening we got engaged in the summer of 1999. The second was when we got married in the summer of 2000. The third is when we found out she was pregnant in the winter of 2006. I have been fortunate enough to be a big part of all of those moments.

The fourth moment came today and was quite a surprise. I did not expect to see a moment of unusual joy from my wife today. She got sick overnight and woke up this morning with a stomach virus (another thing going around down here). So, I stayed home from work today (again) to watch Sophie while Nancy was quarantined to the bedroom. We tried to get her into the doctor in the morning, but they weren't able to get her in until 3:30. This is right when Sophie takes her afternoon nap, so that was as inconvenient as possible. So, Soph & I took Nancy to the doctor's office and then I brought Sophie back home to take her nap. About and hour later, Nancy called. This was expected, so we would know when to come get her.

She sounded good, energized, healthy. I thought maybe the doctor got her some medicine, gave her good news, and she was feeling better. No. She hadn't even seen the doctor yet. But... Coffee Times had called. Coffee Times is an amazing coffee shop in town that Nancy frequents. They had good news for her. Apparently she had been named "Coffee Queen" for the month of March, an honor I didn't even know existed. As Coffee Queen, she is allowed a free specialty coffee drink every day for the month of March.

Yes, the joy in her voice equaled the joy from the day we were engaged and the day we got married, and came close to the day we found out about Sophie. Because she is Coffee Queen. And yes, she got extra excited when it dawned on her that March is a 31 day month.

All hail Coffee Queen.