I have been having my morning kaffe on the back patio the past couple of mornings. It has been tolerable outside at 5:30 AM. I usually spend 30 minutes with my coffee in front of Fox News, but since my wife has the living room dismantled for her painting project (which is a long process, but worth it...she does a great job), I have been trying to vary where I have my coffee. Sometimes in the kitchen, sometimes in the office in front of the PC (I could watch the news there, I have a TV Tuner card), and now outside on the patio. The patio is nice because it allows me to meditate on my life, scripture, current events, family, etc.
living in the 'burbs is not ideal for having your morning coffee outside. The homes are just a few meters apart, traffic noises detract from the stillness, as does the yapping of small dogs (big dogs bark, little dogs yap), and there is no real privacy. However, I have found the past 2 mornings at 5:30 are tolerable. No dogs are out at that hour, traffic is minimal, and our 8 foot tall cedar fence provides some degree of solitude.
It was this morning that I began thinking about that fence, the same basic style that 2 of my neighbors have. As a matter of fact, all three fences were erected by the same company. They are very similar in style, height, materials, and workmanship. We paid a bit more of these fences, but they came with a good warranty (3 years) that is valid only if the company sign they placed remains on the fence the entire three years. At first I was a bit put off, seeing as this is free advertisement for the contractor, but I did not let it get to me. On of my neighbors though, did let it bother him and he removed the sign. I asked him about his decision and he told me that he did not like it. When I told him that the warranty stipulates the sign MUST remain in place for the warranty to remain valid, he just said, "Any good lawyer will tear that contract apart". I agreed that any lawyer worth his/her salt could do just that, but was it worth the cost? I told him, "Whatever warranty work needs to be done will certainly cost less than the price of a lawyer. If you take the sign down, need work and have no warranty and you have to hire a lawyer to get the work done, how have you saved any money?"
He did not say anything to me. On my way home last night, as I was pulling into my driveway, I noticed he put the sign back up. I guess he sees my point.
But I digress. Solitude. That is what I crave. Not unlike Jesus, I like to be alone sometimes. Do not get me wrong, spending time with family and friends is great, but I need a certain measure of alone time to get me in the proper frame of mind. My morning coffee is one such time. There are a few times during the week my wife will either get up before or the same time I do. Waking up with her is not as easy as waking alone. My wife is very chipper when she gets up, I am not. I take 30-60 minutes to become "human" where she wakes up fresh as a daisy.
When I lived in WV and in NC, I used to take long walks in the woods every week. It allowed me time to reflect and meditate on things and really allowed me to get a better perspective on my life. In Tejas (the Dallas area), it is rather barren. No heavily wooded areas that I can wander for hours in. I have been known to walk for hours when the weather was hot in NC and WV, but the trees allowed me to remain mostly comfortable. In Tejas, if you do not walk under cover of trees (which there are few), you will roast.
I am not sure what I will do about this dilemma.
I hope you enjoy YOUR coffee.
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