I used to be her.

The woman who was always in a hurry and had too much going on. The woman who always had somewhere else to be or something else to do. The woman who couldn't just wait 10 minutes to get through the drive-thru at a Starbucks.

That's what I thought, as I watched her pull out of the drive-thru line in her Jeep and off to somewhere else - I used to be you.

Maybe she truly had somewhere else to go but I didn't. Not today or any other day, really, not for months.

And I can't tell you how many times I have ditched this exact same line at this Starbucks to go somewhere else for my coffee, even if it was out of my way.

But not today.

I sat in the line patiently. I checked my Facebook, I listened to Aerosmith, and you guess it, I wrote this piece on my phone. It took maybe 10, 15, minutes tops for me to get through and get my coffee.

What's changed and made me all of the sudden more patient?

COVID happened.

While the world has turned to chaos - it's changed me.

I've learned to be still.

I've learned to be grateful for that first sip of a savory latte and view it as a treat and not something I need on demand.

God has taught me to slow down and embrace the little things.

I count my blessings every morning and say my prayers every night now.

I put down what I'm doing and look up, now more than ever, at my kids and watch them do nothing.

While the world has kept going and has returned to the "new normal," I won't. I refuse to. I don't want to return to the "fast-paced, always looking forward, never in the moment" ways I used to know. I want to continue on the path I'm on.

So today, I waited for my coffee. I was polite to the barista when I got up to the window, I didn't complain about the wait time. No, instead, I gave her a tip. Instead, I paid for the drinks for the car behind me and went on my way to enjoy my own drink. I even drank it slower (which I'm usually known for being a guzzler).

I savored my little treat and I thanked God for another day and His faithful love.

And I prayed that this woman found her own little treat at some point today and that she got to savor it like I did.