morning coffee {november 15, 2022}

The importance of appreciating simple, everyday joys in life.

One of these everyday joys is my morning cup of coffee. 

It's more than the coffee itself that I love. The ritual of preparing and enjoying a cup of coffee in the morning is my introduction to the new day.  

I started thinking about why I appreciate the ritual of making and drinking morning coffee on such a grand level, and I realized that it's because it's a very uncomplicated, almost effortless way to start the day on a positive note. For starters, even though I am a morning person, it gets me out of bed and gets me going. But there is also something to be said for the way coffee affects all of my senses - I love the sound of the beans being poured into the grinder, the smell of them being freshly ground, the sight of that delectable liquid dripping down into the pot, the feeling of my hands around the warm coffee mug, and most importantly, the taste. Oh that first taste! The entire process is enjoyable, and starting your day doing something you enjoy is key to the outcome of the rest of it. The morning coffee ritual also means a few minutes of a relaxed time with T as we greet the day. It may be a short and sweet time period, but it does make a difference in each of our days.

We spent the night at our son's house the other night. He's not a regular coffee drinker, he didn't have milk in his fridge (I like a splash of milk in my coffee), so on our way out of Columbus we stopped at a coffee shop for our morning fix. What a delightful spot! A group of Italian men were at a table solving the problems of the world in their native language, people with computers were busy with their remote work, an elderly gentleman was sipping his coffee as he was deep into reading his very thick book, and we were part of this group of humanity sipping our coffees while enjoying a homemade pop tart. I'm usually not one for sweets in the morning but this was delicious. And it was vegan. I found this out when I returned the plate to the counter and complimented the barista on the tasty treat.

Just like at home, morning ritual played out in the coffee shop: the grinder, the smell, the warm cup, that first sip, and the bonus was having a kind server with a smile.