You order your coffee, I’ll order my tea, and we’ll discuss life for a bit, okay?

During this coffee date…

I would ask what you ordered. I’m always looking for a new drink from Starbucks or the independent coffee shops around here. (I almost always order a Chai tea latte with soy milk, but if I’m going to treat myself, I go for the coffee.)

I would confide that I’m relieved to be out of my house. I would state the obvious and say that being a stay at home mom is hard and I love the chance to get out of the house and have quality time with a girlfriend.

I would tell you that this past weekend I saw a mom with some sort of dried food smeared on her shirt and I instantly felt better because other moms walk around like that, too! It’s not just me! I wanted to high-five her but I also didn’t want to mention the shirt, because she probably didn’t know she was wearing her toddler’s breakfast.

I would share that I feel it’s cliche to keep talking about cleaning (I mean it’s so obvious I’m almost out of my 20’s… who talks about cleaning?!) but it’s what the other moms and I talk about because HOW IS IT THAT ALL WE DO IS CLEAN and our houses are still messy? I would also apologize for shouting. Then I would apologize for even bringing up cleaning in the first place. Then I would feel bad for apologizing and I would quickly change the subject, even though you would be able to tell that I’m actually really stressed about this whole thing!

I would proudly announce that Tim and I have ‘officially’ been Airbnb hosts for a little over a week and it’s going well! We’ve had three different guests stay, another one comes today, and another one comes on Friday. It’s been exhausting but fun and we’re still working out the details related to hosting and how we can make the entire thing run smoothly and cost-effectively… I would probably go on for far too long about my lessons learned in the process and your eyes might glaze over at certain points. (Blog post coming soon, but on a coffee date I wouldn’t bore you with too many details.)

I would tell you that I’ve been volunteering through United Way to prepare taxes for low income families in the Seattle area. You would probably already know that I spent a lot of time doing this in Chicago last tax season, and I couldn’t wait to do it again this year. (Did you know I’m a CPA? You probably knew that.)  I would smile and say I absolutely love this volunteer opportunity and am so happy that I have the chance to do it.

Sidenote: If you make less than $65k per year, check whether there are free tax preparation services in your area!

Other Sidenote: I can help you with your tax return for a small fee if you don’t want to file your own. Email me and we can chat about options.

I would explain that I am starting to feel ‘legitimately’ pregnant. I would sigh and share that I’m out of the second trimester and it’s all going downhill. I would go onto explain that when I bend over to put on my shoes I feel like I’m squishing the baby. My ribs hurt in the same place they hurt when I was pregnant with Clara. I’m getting a bit uncomfortable (to say the least) but I’m sleeping well and I honestly just can’t complain because I love being pregnant and our due date is less than 100 days away! (It’s actually 74 days away, but who’s counting?!)

I would reluctantly share that I’ve felt busy lately. Like, really busy. And I hate saying that because I realize it’s annoying and self-imposed. But, since we’re friends, I would confess that Tim’s been working long hours which means my job (as a SAHM) has also been requiring long hours, I’m managing the Airbnb, I’m going to almost-weekly chiropractor/physical therapy/counseling/OB appointments. Plus, I’m about to start going to acupuncture appointments, too. In addition to that, we’re still interviewing doulas, I workout as much as I can (not as often as I would like, sadly) and I make a strong effort to go to prenatal yoga at least weekly. And then, of course, there’s the volunteering and blogging and attending our church small group and church services and mom groups and playdates… It’s a lot to keep track of. But here’s the thing, I would not be complaining to you about this busyness, because I really do love every single thing I’m doing. Instead I would be lamenting that that I don’t feel like I have time to rest, but I recognize this is a season of life and I’m embracing it!

I would ask you if you watch ‘The Bachelor’ because I started watching it a few seasons ago and am still hooked. If you said you watch it, I would ask you who your favorite contestant is and we’d probably start discussing the show in way too much detail.

I would tell you all about Clara because she does the funniest things every darn day. I would tell you that she says ‘LOVE YOU!’ (she always yells it) and has recently also started saying her name. She loves cars and trucks and buses – but especially buses. I would laugh and proclaim that this is clearly an urban child.

We would probably talk for quite a while because I have a lot to say, darnit! But some of it would need to wait for another time because I would also want to hear all about you and what you’re doing, what you’re reading, how you’re spending your time…

So tell me, coffee date friend, what’s been the biggest challenge or triumph of your week?!

Linking up with Gretchen & Kristen today!