Isn’t it funny how sometimes you will be doing something completely normal, and suddenly, out of the blue a smell, a taste, a sound will take you back somewhere you never expected?

This weekend I am a slave to a grad school project and, at the moment, simultaneously battling a headache of a serious magnitude. Naps, water, Advil, and bribery of the universe have had exactly zero effect on said headache so far, so I just decided to resort to the mother of all cures: caffeine. (This will also have a fantastic effect on the percentage completion of my project achieved in subsequent hours.)

It wasn’t long before I found myself in front of my Keurig coffee-maker with a box of Cafe Escapes Chai Tea Latte K-Cups (a Black Friday steal thanks to Bed Bath & Beyond). What followed looked like this:

Insert K-Cup, select mug size, press button, engage in spontaneous calisthenics, retrieve steaming mug of heaven-sent goodness, slam into thoughts of… JJ? Weekday mornings. Sleepovers. Dinner dates, late night Bravo and E! marathons, saying goodbye for the day as we leave for work.

This may all sound like the sappy reminiscing of an ex-boyfriend. But really, it’s about JJ, my Matron of Honor, who I used have dinner dates and sleepovers with while her husband traveled and Bill worked late. Great, but where does the chai latte come in? Well, she would wake me up with one from exactly the same brand every morning, and I would make her a bagel while she got ready for work. This routine quickly led to the exclusive substitution of the term “wifeys” instead of “friends”. We don’t do that anymore now that Bill and I live together, but I miss it. I actually hadn’t thought about those nights/mornings in a long time.

Sometimes a chai tea latte is more than just a chai tea latte, but also a wonderful reminder that sometimes friends are more than just friends. And no matter what you call them – your besties, BFFs, wifeys, whatever – hold on to those sweet memories as long as you can. They just might cure life’s little headaches.

Love you, Wifey. My headache is gone, and I’m so glad you’re in my life. ❤