About three years ago the local Tim Hortons changed ownership and started to suck big time. I've never been a fan {except for the double chocolate donuts} and finally saw my chance to convert my husband to become a Starbucks guy. We went for a Flat White and he never looked back. He even replaced his Tim Hortons Keurig pods at home with Starbucks Pike Place.
Starbucks became our afternoon coffee date and weekend breakfast spot, some weeks we went there as often as five times. The amount of money we spent was ridiculous, but hey, YOLO as the young people say, right? {Old people like me prefer to say Carpe Diem.} It got to a point where they knew our order, even if we were not there in person. One of my husband's coworkers once ordered at the Drive Through and just said: "...and one of what Roland always orders." and got a Grande Flat White with 2% milk and 2 Splenda. I'm still not sure if that was a proud or a pathetic moment.
After a couple of years of the Starbucks Intensive, my interest started to wane. Even before the pandemic hit I was sort of over it. Because too much of a good thing is still too much. What made me sad about it is that it was not special anymore. It was routine. And probably not super healthy. So we went from five times a week to once a week or less and I was not mad about it. In fact, once we move the closest Starbucks will be 174 km away and I'm very excited about it. It'll mean Starbucks once a month or even less, and if that's not a special treat then I don't know what is.
And it's not just Starbucks. It's having access to everything all the time. Everything right in your face all the time. The amount of events to attend, charities to support, new products to try, news you're inundated with. Just. Too. Much. How do you ever catch your breath from that? I'm not saying that minimizing all your stuff and moving into the wilderness is the only way, but it's the answer for me. Maybe it's because I have been working online for the last seven years and have had more than my share of information overload. I know a few people who are very selective with their time spent online and they don't feel like they're missing out. More the opposite, actually.
The internet is a great tool and it will continue to be part of my work and where I can connect with people who share my values and interests {and order yarn, ahem}, but it's going to have to take a seat in the second row for a bit ~ or at the very least be a tool that I use, not something that I'm a slave to. Can you relate to that?
Less access to allthethings, fewer {but better} Starbucks dates, and living minimalist. I'm down with that. And downright excited. 14 more sleeps!