Coffee Chats w/ Dr. D

Hello, Cadre. Oh, I didn't even put the mic up, but I'm here. What's up, guys? It's me, Dr. D. And my coffee. And we are gonna get into this coffee today because I have an update for y'all. I have been wanting a Nespresso machine for the longest time, probably for a couple of years. And I remember when I first got introduced to the Nespresso, it was probably about seven years ago, maybe. And I remember the coffee I had. I was like, oh, my gosh, this coffee is so good. And I learned how much the Nespresso cost.

I was like, I can't afford it. Never mind. So I stuck with the Keurig. Hello, everybody. And so I decided to bless myself with a Nespresso machine this year. So this is my. One of my first cups of the day. And so just let's check it out. Look at the foam, y'all. Check it out. So you know me. You know I love coffee, and I like my coffee a little creamy and frothy, but not an actual latte. And so I have a frother that I use. And now, because the Nespresso is just amazing, I don't have to froth my coffee anymore, y'all.

So, yeah, this is my. My Christmas blessing to myself. So hold on a second. Me taste it. So good. All right, so I want to give you guys some insight to the Christmas season for me. So Happy Christmas Eve. Merry Christmas Eve. I've heard that people say happy Christmas or Merry Christmas, depending on where you live, so I'll say both. But when I was. Let's see, early 20s, I'm taking y'all way back. Okay. In my early 20s, you know, I've loved coffee since I was 10 years old. And I remember my early 20s.

My mom got me an espresso machine, and I didn't know how to use it. I always wanted one. I thought they were so fancy and cool. And I remember it sat in a box in my closet for years because I didn't know how to use it. I asked her for it, and I got it, and I didn't use it, but when I finally used it, I didn't know how to take care of it. So there is part of an espresso machine where you have to add water. And I didn't think about. Probably was just common sense, but for some reason, it didn't click for me that I needed to empty the water out, and I didn't use the espresso machine as often as I needed to or as often as I wanted to, because life was just super busy back then.

I mean, it's busy now, but I didn't know how to manage my time as well as I do now. And that espresso machine started to mold, and I had to throw it away. And I was really sad because I know that espresso machine was very expensive. And my mother really took her time to find the one that I asked for. And so I felt really bad that I had to just toss it. And so this morning I was thinking about, what am I going to talk about today? Like, people are trying to be with their family, and, you know, nobody wants to come to a coffee chat, but y'all are here.

So thank you. But it made me think about gifts. The gifts that we receive and do we take care of them? But the ultimate gift that I was thinking about was the gift of love. So let's relate this back to this story about my espresso machine. So I think we encounter the gift of love at times when we're not ready for it. We want love, we ask for love, we seek love, People give us love. But if we receive love at times that we're not ready to take care of it, what's going to happen to it? So sometimes in relationships, we get love from others.

We get love from other people when we're not ready to receive it for different reasons. Maybe our heart is just hard. Maybe we, you know, we're coming out of a toxic relationship and we don't trust the person that's trying to show us love in this new relationship. Or maybe we've been hurt by family or by friends. And so we're trying to experience love in a new way. And we want it, we ask for it, but when we get it, we don't take care of it. And what happens when we don't take care of the love we receive?

It's going to get moldy and nasty and we might end up getting rid of it. We might end up terminating that relationship or the person that is showing us love, if we're not taking care of them too, they may choose to leave. And so we don't have that gift that we asked for. We don't have the gift that we've been waiting for for years. So I want to encourage you to think about what gifts of love do you have in your life right now, Whether it's, you know, a romantic relationship, a partner you have. A lot of times we are only tending to our own needs that we're not taking care of.

That gift in that other person, and we're not being a gift ourselves. Let me sip on that real quick, because that was good right there. So think about, are you a gift of love? Do you need to show up as a gift of love in someone else's life? You know, there's an early video I posted here in Cadre about filling up your cup sometimes. We're. We're always asking other people to fill our cups, and we're asking for gifts from other people. But we have to recognize in ourselves that we are also a gift.

So how do you need to show up to be a gift of love today? And not just in this Christmas season, this holiday season, but every day? So there's moments that we encounter with different people, and it couldn't even be a stranger. Have you ever experienced love from a stranger? I have, and I think it shows up when we need it. There are moments when I remember meeting someone in Hobby Lobby, if y'all know what that is. Hobby Lobby is this big store. They have pictures and lots of artwork and everything you need for your home to decorate.

And I remember I was looking at crosses. I have a wall of crosses in my house, and I was looking for a new cross. And there was this strange guy that just walked up to me, made eye contact with me, and he was like, hello, my sister. And I didn't know him. Like, how you gonna call me sister? You don't know me. But I felt the love. And just him recognizing me and seeing me, and I came across this proverb, I may have shared this before, too, that to share love or to love someone is to see them. And so when we are being seen, I think that is the gift.

That is the gift of love to see someone. So think about, who do you need to show up today and see? See them in a different light? And are there people in your life that actually see you, that are looking at you and seeing you in a way that you don't even see yourself? So we can experience love from others that we can't give to ourselves sometimes, and that's okay. So learn to accept the gift, take care of the gift, and be a gift. All right? So I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas. Please spend time with your family and your friends.

Even if you choose to be alone or circumstances require you to be alone this season, it's okay. Just know that Cadre is here. You know, go back and watch some of our videos that have been posted today in this past couple of days, and I want you guys to experience love this. The love that I have. I want to share that with you. So I hope I'm your gift today, but. Yeah. You guys have a great day. And don't forget your coffee. Okay, Bye.