‘Comfort Stations”

There’s a gas station about midway between my home and my new place of employment where I stop to get a cup of coffee every morning. I stumbled upon it one morning when I was trying yet another route in to work. It’s a rather busy place, larger than I usually prefer (I have grown to enjoy the small-town stops along the way) but the minute I stepped in I realized WHY it was so busy every morning. While it was quite the one-stop shop, complete with its own mail drop and UPS service right outside, there’s a familiarity that hits you the minute you enter the door. Marie is the guilty one for that. An elderly woman – quite spry for her age – she tends to the coffee stations for about three or fours hours in the morning and then she goes home. She humbly says, “that’s all I do – I JUST do the coffee . . . “ I wonder if she even realizes that she’s the reason the coffee tastes so good . . . that she’s that one ingredient that the other places don’t have. I wonder if she realizes that in this very short time, I have grown to depend on her to start my day.

There are people in my life who are a lot like this gas station – a lot like Marie. Throughout my life I have gathered a few very dear friends to me and I find that I need to stop in and re-fuel when the ‘ol tank is low, when I need a warm drink because it’s a bit cold on the outside or just when I need to clean my windshield from all the tear-drenched streaks.

Comfort Stations are always dependable, always well stocked and always within my price-range. They are available to others but always make me feel as it they've opened JUST for me. I could travel many roads and still know that when I cross that particular intersection, I am welcomed to stop in, at a moments notice, as if no time had gone by.

Many a good station has been discovered from driving on the roads less traveled. I have discovered that I’m a back-roads kind of gal by nature. While the big city lights with it’s cultural coffee stations add some fun to my days and nights of curiosity, my heart always brings me back to these special stations . . . because nothing seems to compare.

Enjoy your morning cup of coffee . . . I'll always drive a little extra to make sure I do.

P.S. ~ If you are ever in the area (Spring Grove, IL) stop in to the Citgo Station on the corner of Route 12 & Spring Grove Road. Rob, Cindy and Woody all play their part in this great package deal. Thanks guys for helping to keep us warm on these cold, cold days.