“Can I get you a cup of coffee?” This is a standard start to many of our conversations and, if you were here talking to us face-to-face, it would be one of the first things you would be asked. Maybe, “How are you doing?” would preface it but it would take a very short beat before the offer of a cup of something to drink. See, our backgrounds have ensured that the offer of coffee during any gathering is in our DNA. Both of us spent our significant young adult years in the midwest – a combination of Wisconsin, Nebraska, Missouri, and Minnesota between us. And we are a bi-cultural home with dual citizenship (for all but one of us) in Denmark and the US. To borrow from the mom-centered t-shirt, word art, and Insta posts – “coffee is life” around here.
As essential as a cup of coffee is to a good life, so is authentic conversation. The kind that begins with a hesitant question and evolves into discovery and challenge and (for the bookish among us) research and a return to the discussion. The kind of conversation that owns what we do and do not know and enjoys the journey of learning because it is happening as part of a relationship and not as a solitary struggle.
To be clear, the struggle is a key part of personal and relational growth. Without some struggle, we become house plants. Lovely, possibly growing (not in our house, though!), and totally stuck in one place just exchanging CO2 and O2. So we relish the chance to engage in conversations that allow a little tension in thought and idea.
You too? Perfect! Grab a cup, join our conversations. There are so many interesting things we can talk about. And we look forward to being on the journey of growth with you.
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