The Morning Ritual
Every morning at 5:30 AM, I have this little ritual that’s become sacred to me. I unlock Common Grounds’ front door, flip on the lights, and breathe in that first whiff of coffee beans as I start the morning brew.
It’s in these quiet moments, with the sun barely peeking through the windows, that I sometimes think about Becca’s words: ‘The office world is changing — adapt or get left behind.
‘ She wasn’t wrong, just misguided about what adaptation really means. For her, it meant stepping on others and using social media to mock those who’d spent decades building careers.
For me, it meant creating something entirely new from the ashes of what I’d lost. As I wipe down counters and warm up the espresso machine, I often smile thinking about how differently our paths turned out.
My adaptation wasn’t about becoming someone else or betraying my values—it was about finding a place where those values could thrive.
By 6:15, Diane arrives with fresh pastries from the local bakery, and Ethan follows at 6:30 sharp (never 6:29, never 6:31). We move around each other in a comfortable dance we’ve perfected over months.
Sometimes, as I hand the first customers their morning brew, I catch a glimpse of my reflection in the gleaming espresso machine—gray hair, laugh lines, and all—and I feel something I never felt at Midwest Mutual: pride.
What I didn’t realize then was that my little coffee shop was about to face its biggest challenge yet, and it would come from the most unexpected source.