New Favorites

David discovered reubens this week. Pumpernickel bread, corned beef and sauerkraut previously held no power over him. Now, he’s compulsive; he craves reubens for lunch, reubens for supper, even reubens for snacks. It’s his new favorite.

A couple days after the reuben craze started, I went to a new local coffee shop with a friend. Unfamiliar with coffee lingo and flavors, I ordered something I’d had once before a couple years ago – chi tea latte on ice. Sipping it as we talked over life’s complexities, I found myself raving about the flavor blend, savoring every swallow, even contemplating when I could come again to enjoy my next cup. It’s my new favorite.

There’s a difference between a new favorite and an old one. Old favorites include comfortable jeans, worn-in sneakers, and sodas of choice. They are the tried and true. They soothe because they provide the comfortable, the familiar, the sure thing. My navy drawstring shorts are an old favorite. Having seen much better days, they now feature a broken drawstring and worn waistline. But still, they are my preference in pajamas.

New favorites, on the other hand, don’t relax us; they excite us. They are the small things that offer deviation from the routine. They enter our thoughts randomly, signaling our senses and providing the catalyst for new behaviors. The sheer volume of our thoughts in their direction can even run the danger of overkill, death by repetition (this is my fear where the reubens are concerned). Eventually, though, the new favorite will become more than just a phase; it will grow into an old favorite. It will become the article of comfort, the crutch we rely on, the tried and true.

But for now, I can’t keep up with visits to the grocery store to restock my kitchen with reuben ingredients. For now, I find myself trying to justify $3 and some change for a single cup of tea.