Well, folks. It’s here. The second cup of coffee. I am officially an adult.
Real adults drink, like, whole pots of coffee, don’t they? They guzzle it like gasoline from water bottle sized travel mugs sitting in traffic on their way to work. Arriving at the office they pour another cup just to “sip” on as they catch up on voicemails and e-mails and other sorts of “mails”.
I’m just guessing. When I was working, I always drank coffee in the morning. One cup. I didn’t have to sit in traffic, but sipped it at my desk. I don’t believe I was desperate for it. I don’t believe I guzzled it like gasoline. I enjoyed it. Enjoyed the taste, the warmth, the smell. Oh, the immaturity. One of my favorite daily activities was pouring cream into my coffee, watching the swirls of milky white.
Now, my coffee drinking days have evolved into something much different and I don’t take the time to notice the swirls or appreciate the smell. I guzzle it like gasoline. Every last drop. And just recently, I started going back for more.
I never thought it would come to this. So who’s to blame? My husband and my kids…of course.
I entered marriage as a tea drinker who occasionally drank coffee. My husband was a coffee drinker who occasionally (rather when he was sick) drank tea. I was proud of my status, determined not to be one of those people who was useless without coffee.
But every morning my husband would grind the beans and brew this deliciously smelling coffee filling our apartment with the pleasant aromas of hazelnut or french vanilla or just plain coffee. Eventually, I succumbed. I wanted to be a part of it.
What was so bad about one innocent little cup of coffee?
The answer is nothing. But then it becomes two. Then three. Then four. And pretty soon, before you know it you are drinking a whole pot of coffee. That’s how it begins. That’s how they get you. Those evil coffee drinking pagans.
Then you have children and the morning cup of joe takes on a whole new significance. When you wake up at 6 a.m. to a bright and big-eyed toddler begging you to vacuum the rug so he can watch, it becomes the lifeblood of…um, life.
So gone are my idealism and tea-drinking nose-in-the-air days. Growing up is tough, humbling.
But I’ve got to say, this afternoon when I caught myself dancing in the kitchen I thought to myself, “perhaps this second cup of coffee isn’t such a bad thing after all.”
I guess you could say, growing up has its perks.
Brooke Frick 
Hello, fellow coffee drinker! How’s your reading going? I’m in Exodus. I am also memorizing Scripture, and follow this blog as encouragement.
http://blog.lproof.org/2011/01/just-wondering-what-youre-up-to.html
Right now I am memorizing Habakkuk 2:4.
hey! I just finished Exodus and am now in a combination of Numbers and Leviticus (as that is how the chronological Bible goes…pretty cool). I’ve been meaning to write a post about it…will do soon! Thanks for sharing the blog, I will check it out! ANd I am not memorizing Scripture, but I should–that’s a great idea! Hope all is well with you 🙂
I still make sure the pot is EMPTY. However as a 10-12 year old when we camped out along the river we used to mix instant coffee, lots of sugar and milk in a jar. Then while sitting around the fire we just boiled water and mixed it like the old folks!
I resisted coffee for years. My first cup was when I was around 22 and had to study all night for a college test so I grabbed a giant coffee from McD’s and the rest is history. I used to drink an entire pot by myself in my late 20s!…now I’ve weaned down to two cups first thing in the morning. I don’t think I’ll ever give it up completely though. Having kids is enough reason to keep on drinking it.
Glad I have a kindred spirit out there. Once you pop you just can’t stop! hahaha…and yes, having kids is for sure reason enough to keep on drinking it! Good to hear from you 🙂
Brooke that is what I did every night when I was working on my overnights. It was used to keep me awake at night and I would drink a whole pot of coffee in 4 hours. But that was the only place I would drink coffee or when I would visit my friend we would have a cup or two.
I never got into coffee until my junior year abroad in France, where I started out by sipping a cafe creme in cafes. I loved those brown cubes of sugar that I would barely touch to the surface of the coffee and watch while it absorbed upwards to the top. Only then would I drop it in and stir.
I now drink a pot a day, but have managed to wean myself down to a 5-1 ratio of decaf to caf. Otherwise, I would torture my family in the mornings by chatting incessantly at 100 mph. Caffeine makes me verrrry talkative and lively. Sometimes my husband will walk in and in two seconds of my company pronounce whether or not I have over-indulged.
The ritual of it is necessary, though. That piping hot beverage, the aroma, it gives me a moment of peace before my 3 boys (7 and under) start to take over the day!
Great post!