In 2008, in their last semester of undergrad, three friends started meeting on Friday mornings at sunrise. They'd meet up at a Dunkin Donuts in downtown Milwaukee, just east of their Marquette campus, before their 9 am classes to sip coffee, chat, and check in. Over the next two years, two more friends joined as the group transitioned to the Starbucks at Red Arrow Park and then to Alterra (now Colectivo) on the Lake. My then fiance, now husband, joined the guys in 2012. Since then, these six guys have been meeting weekly at Colectivo. As girlfriends have become wives and new babies have joined the picture, these friends keep getting together. While it is not as logistically simple to meet up these days, the men continue creating time, citing that it is more important than ever to check in with one another and to keep their friendship strong. Dave, my brother-in-law, sends the group text out the evening before, noting at what time the sun will rise. Some combination of the six men then meet the next morning, joking, laughing, and touching on a wide variety of topics, including sports, work, family, loss, new births, the beloved quarterly craft beer tasting, parents, parenting, and so on. Each man buys his first cup of coffee, and then there is a rotating schedule, based on birthdays, for who buys "reefs" (refills) that morning.
Now, I do not think I am unique in finding this tradition to be rather endearing. It is a simple routine for these gentlemen, and each week is another stitch in the tapestry of their friendship.
What I am most touched by, though, has been watching each of these men become a father in recent years. The oldest offspring of the group, twin girls who I used to nanny every Thursday before I had my own daughters, were born in the summer of 2015-- less than 5 years ago. Shortly after their mom brought them into this world, I asked her-- the first mom of this group-- how she felt knowing that she'd be raising these two daughters. She was thrilled; she was excited to raise them into smart, independent, strong young ladies. I loved her answer. Since then, seven more babies have been born to the Sunrise Coffee dudes. And seven out of seven of those babies are also girls. A mother of two of these other little ladies often reminds me, "Who rule the world? Girls?"
What is also extremely fun is that the wives of the last two of these men to become fathers will give birth in the next few days and weeks, respectively. One of these wives is the sweetest friend who introduced me (and can totally take credit for that! 😜) to my husband on the soccer field in 2011, and the other is my sister. Neither couple knows if they will give birth to a son or a daughter. We are so excited to see if the reign of daughters rolls on, or if one of these couples will give birth to a sweet son. Stay tuned! [The probability of having 9/9 daughters is roughly 0.2%... 10/10 daughters is 0.1%... 11/11 daughters is 0.05%.]
Why do I feel compelled to write this post? Well, I guess it is just that I feel so proud to have these six men accompanying us six wives on our parenthood journey. [And I know these dudes are proud to be our companions!] You better believe that the dads are facilitating the adventurous spirits of these fiery little ladies. These Sunrise Coffee men have transformed into incredible partners and fathers over the last decade+. Men that we are so proud to know, love, and cherish. The nine daughters (and two yet-to-be-earthside babes!) are all enamored by their loving dads. And while our respective husbands are far from perfect 😉, the other wives and I are well aware that we-- and our daughters-- are blessed to be on this journey of life together with them.
*Additional notes: 1. The guys have not physically met for coffee since March of 2020 due to the COVID-19 craziness. 2. A few other brothers and friends have joined the Sunrise Coffee group in the last 18 months so, truthfully, there are now some amazing little sons in the group. :)
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