Say la Vie old friend.

I am a girl of rituals. I love them, even if they are a little odd, such as…on Sundays, I paint my nails and take a shower long enough to beat all six showers proceeding it. On Monday nights, I have to watch Gossip Girls with a glass of Sam’s Diet Coke in a Riedel glass (everything is nicer in a Riedel). Travis and I eat the same, exact meal before every NYC trip, I have to lay with the same quilt when watching NFL football, I check the exact same sites, in the exact same order as soon as I get to work…and the list goes on from seasonal rituals to daily ones, but the one I have grown quite accustom to is my Friday morning ritual – Dunkin Donuts coffee and a glazed donut.
Every Friday morning I leave home a little early to drive to our neighborhood DD. I know the employees by whether or not they can make my large coffee with cream and sugar just right (The new girl cannot grasp this task). I have mastered the drive-thru curb so that I no longer drive over it (yes, it is tricky).

This morning as I pulled into DD I noticed a silver Jeep Liberty sitting across all of the parking spaces and I honestly thought to myself, “That’s an awfully nice car to be a getaway car. They should have at least gotten tinted windows to pull this off.” As I slowly passed the car, I noticed a woman my age dressed in professional garb and not looking the part of a getaway driver. I proceeded around the building to the drive-thru window. Then, low and behold, the saddest thing appeared, more than I could take this morning…a closed sign. As in closed for good, no more Friday morning coffees (unless I want to drive two more miles and walk in rather than drive through), no more late-night donuts and coffee after a night out (even though they started closing at 6pm on New Year’s), no more iced coffees in the summer, no more DD breakfast before any flight I take (another ritual)…closed permanently, as in no more. I think I will add the word ‘closed’ to my top five saddest words.

I drove around haphazardly looking for somewhere else to breakfast at with no luck. I lingered towards Ingrid’s, but that was too far for this morning jaunt. I pondered Will’s, but it is more than I can handle in the morning. I contemplated McDonalds, but it leaves a less than desirable feeling in my gut throughout the day. I settled for office coffee and a Fiber One bar, my usual breakfast. DD made Friday’s special – today is just another Thursday with no work tomorrow.

Say la vie old friend, my Friday morning rock, it’s been a long run from my high school days to my thirties. I will remember you with fondness and a smile and curse the idea that you are no longer with us.

Natalie ran on Dunkin.