Full disclosure: I’m taking a page out of my friend Elena’s book with the “If we went out for coffee” prompt.

If we went out for coffee, hopefully we are meeting at Que’s. It’s my favorite Boulder coffee shop. It’s close to home, parking is easy, and it’s not a scene. But those are all just bonuses. The coffee is sublime. Specifically, the Roaster’s Reserve Blend. They have a few different blends. My favorite barista is happy (and I mean happy!) to pour you a sample of any blend you’d like to taste. He loves coffee and his name is Dan. Dan’s identifying features: obviously delights in pouring excellent coffee, great smile, beard, chipped tooth.

Once we’re settled at a table, I’ll probably ask you what you’re reading. If it sounds good, I will ask you to please pardon me while I add it (real quick!) to my “To read” shelf in the Goodreads app. (Also, I will need to know if you’re on Goodreads. I love this app. Please download this app and friend me, kay?) Truthfully, I rarely consult my “to read” shelf when deciding what to read next. By default, I tend to read whatever random book is finally available on the hold shelf. Getting the email where the library tells me the book I requested months ago and have totally forgotten about feels like finding $20 in my pocket. While I’m at the library, I almost always grab at least one or two books from the Lucky Day shelf in addition to my stuff from the hold shelf.

Right now, I’m in the middle of “The Bridge Ladies” (Lucky Day), and waiting on my dresser are Mindsight (hold), After You (Hold- specifically for book club), and Sweetbitter (Lucky Day). I might ask you if you’ve read Mindsight (I happened to love Whole Brain Child- same author. Did you read it?). I will definitely ask you if you’ve read 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl. I randomly bought it at the BookWorm because the cover caught my eye and OH MY GOD I have never read a book like this, except maybe When the Messenger Is Hot (which I have a copy you can borrow if you promise to give it back). I mean you have to read this book. I will laugh because I know I’m being kind of pushy about this book, but it’s that good. It’s about a woman and the way the size of her body and her obsession with her weight and caloric intake inform all of her interactions but that’s not why it is amazing. It’s Awad’s superb knack for getting the details right. The way she articulates her razor sharp observations (or imaginings, considering this is, after all, a work of fiction) is hilarious and heartbreaking and plain old genius.

I love this book so hard.

For sure I’m going to ask you what trips or other fun things you have planned this summer. Dan and I randomly stayed at the Niwot Inn on a Thursday night in June. I will have to tell you this because it was lovely. You haven’t heard of the Niwot Inn? Neither had I. I was hell bent on finding a place in or close to Boulder that was under $200 a night and not gross, a task that proved damn near impossible. Until I came across the Niwot Inn. I’d call it rustic-chic. It has only about a dozen rooms and a sweet front porch. It’s in downtown Niwot and your room includes a happy hour wine and cheese plus a breakfast of anything you might want except scrambled eggs. For dinner we walked to Colterra, and for dessert we got ice cream at Lefty’s Gourmet Pizza and Ice Cream. In the morning, I talked Dan into running with me before breakfast.

We ate our breakfast on the Niwot Inn’s porch. I drank my coffee while it was still hot. We read the paper. We talked. Small voices did not interrupt us. It was heavenly. After checkout, we hit Harlequin’s for a couple of rose bushes. Then we went to McGuckins to pick up all the materials for the fountain we made. You haven’t seen our fountain!? You need to come over and see it. And hear it. The gurgling sound the water makes when it hits the rocks makes you feel like you’re at the spa. We made it ourselves, using a tutorial I found on Pinterest. Actually, I did most of the work (even the wire splitting!). It really wasn’t that hard.

We hustled home to get back to our kids and the sitter, who told us he definitely wants kids but he’s definitely not ready. We laughed. We told him we understood. At this point, I’ll probably tell you that most days, I’m still not sure I’m ready to be a parent.

If you don’t already know, you will probably ask me what’s up with our male babysitter. I get it. You’ve probably never hired, or maybe even heard of a male sitter. (PS It drives me batshit crazy when people say their husband is babysitting the kids. That’s actually called being a parent.) So I’ll tell you all about The Amazing Male Babysitter and I will ask you if you want his number because he’d love more work and because friends don’t deny friends access to good babysitters.

We won’t believe where the time went. Why do we have to get back to work/our kids/whatever so soon? Also, I will want to know how you liked your coffee. My enthusiasm for the coffee here rivals my excitement over 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl.