Oh coffee…my preferred beverage for almost all times of the day. Yes, I know there are other beverages available, but none that make me as happy as coffee. I know, I know…I am aware of how silly this may sound to non-coffee drinkers, but please bear with me. Part of it is the taste, part of it is the smell, but there’s more. I’ll admit that I have grown to need the caffeine, and I don’t function well without it in the mornings. But still, there’s more than that to my undying love of the warm, dark drink whose aroma fills my kitchen with a comforting cloud of deliciousness. To help you understand, I’ll tell you the little tale of my coffee drinking evolution. Take a look inside my memories for a moment and you will begin to see what I mean…
…It may surprise you to know that I almost never drank coffee as a teenager. While many teens today are racing to their nearest coffee house to grab the biggest, sweetest, creamiest jumbo cup of blended sugar and flavorings with a drop off espresso added in, topped with whipped cream and slurped up through a straw, this was NOT me. I didn’t even like the taste of coffee as a young person. Then, college hit, and I would occasionally stop on my way to work as a gymnastics coach at my favorite coffee and gift shop to order a ginormous ice blended vanilla drink that smelled, but didn’t taste, like coffee. In my mind, this doesn’t even count as coffee…I think it mostly just counts as milk, sugar, and a host of other ingredients that I’m pretty sure aren’t even real food. But I digress.
It wasn’t until I got my first career job as a classroom teacher that I really started drinking real coffee. Like, the kind you can make at home in a coffee maker. My husband and I had just gotten married, and we lived a good 45 minutes (with no traffic) away from my work. I had to get up extra early to be there at 7:30am, and since I am not a morning person, I needed some assistance. I started brewing coffee for myself to take with me out the door in my travel mug. I would drink it all the way to work while navigating the Los Angeles area freeway system. Trust me, I NEEDED that coffee! When I got there, I would refill my cup in the teacher’s lounge and prepare for the day. As the years of doing this went by, I started refilling my cup at every break, and before I knew it, I was drinking upwards of 10 cups per day. I beg of you, no matter how much you love coffee, please do not do what I did!! My poor kidneys!! They were very unhappy. But then, it all changed.
My husband and I decided it was time to start a family. I knew that caffeine in the amounts I was consuming it was not good for a developing baby, so I cut it out cold turkey. Not gonna lie…that was rough. But, I did it, and I’m glad I did. Healthy, happy baby #1 was born and we were, of course, thrilled. Still no coffee for me though, because I was nursing and baby had a sensitive tummy. Before we knew it, we got the surprise news that we were expecting baby #2! We were thrilled again, and there was still no coffee. By the time I was done having and nursing babies, several years had flown by and we were in the toddler phase. Coffee made its grand re-entrance in to my life…mamas, I know you know why I needed that coffee! Out came my travel mug again, but this time it went for trips to the park, the zoo, and the farm. Oh, and the coffee maker faithfully brewed my morning coffee each day again, just like old times.
As the kids grew, and life did its thing with the coming and going, the changing and the growing, coffee came along too. And now, our kids are older…not grown yet, but well on their way…and my sweet husband has taken up the habit of having coffee with me every morning. I cherish this time with him more than I can even explain. We both get really busy, like most families, and this “coffee hour” together is priceless to me. This is the thing, mamas. Here is where you might be gaining a bit of understanding in your glimpse into my love of coffee. It is tied to so many precious memories…and also to my current everyday joyfulness. When I think of, smell, taste, or even just make coffee, those feelings of nostalgia, love, fun, and joy all come flooding back. Like I’m pouring them directly into my cup…because I am.
I have some favorite things that have to do with coffee, and I would love to share them with you. Some are items, and some are feelings. Perhaps within my list, you will find something we have in common, or maybe even something you recognize and will remember to pull out of your kitchen archives. Here’s to a good cup of coffee, good friends, sweet memories, and caffeine…because that’s important, too. Heehee.
- My Cuisinart drip coffee maker. I set the timer at night to wake us up in the morning with the fresh aroma of the day. Perfect.
- My Keurig coffee maker. I use this when I want another cup midday, but the morning coffee is all gone.
- The swirling almond milk as it hits the hot, dark roast coffee. Beautiful and artistic. I love how it makes different designs every time.
- The smell of one of my favorite varieties of coffee beans as they spin in my grinder. I always grind my beans fresh before putting them in my coffee pot. For me, it enhances the flavor.
- The happy feeling I get as the first sip of coffee makes its way from the cup to my lips, as I sit in my pjs with my husband in the quietness of the morning.
- The way a hot cup of coffee warms my hands as I hold it while on on a walk, or sitting around our backyard fire pit with my family.
- How much I love choosing a mug…I have so many favorites that I have collected throughout the years. Each one from a different time and place, and each one evoking pleasant memories with every use.
- Our second Keurig machine…this one is in our master bedroom. We originally put it in there when my husband was battling cancer, in order to make getting a refill on his coffee more accessible to him. Now that he is better, we leave it in there…I like to refill my cup as I fold laundry and think about how blessed we are to not need it for its original purpose anymore.
- The memories I have of my grandma grinding her coffee beans in the kitchen when I was little and still thought coffee tasted bad. (I think that’s when I learned to love the smell, though.)
- The fact that our kids know that if I seem to need a pick-me-up, emotional or physical, they can always bring me a cup of coffee and sit down with me to chat. And doesn’t every tired mama need that sometimes?
So cheers, mamas, I raise my coffee cup to you today as you continue to journey on, pursuing the joy in your home. I am cheering for you with everything I’ve got. Here’s some beautiful Bible verses for you to think on today. Be blessed.
