There's always coffee

I  consider myself an optimist and even us optimists have days that overwhelm me and leave me an exhausted, un-optimistic pile of goo.  Recent events (see my last post) brought back memories of time spent at hospitals with both of Joe's parents before they passed away.  In both cases, we had a newborn baby (George was 3 months old when Papaw George died and Andy was 2 months old when we lost Grandma Swayne).  I remember driving to the hospital to see Joe's mom and being so exhausted, worried, sad and upset that I wasn't sure how I was going to get through the day.  The prognosis for his mom was not good.  I was taking things one day at a time, one hour at a time really, and even that was wearing me out.  I felt my hope dwindling to nothing.  And then I thought, "there's always coffee".

What?  There's always coffee?  What does that mean?  I looked at it this way.  Even during those long, sad, terrible days, there's always coffee.  I can still get a cup of coffee and try to enjoy it.  I like a nice cup of coffee, or two, in the morning.  I love the smell of coffee when you open the canister and get the first whiff of those beautiful beans and the second awesome whiff is smelling the beans when they are grinding in the coffee pot.  (We have a pot with a built-in grinder, love it!).  I like to hit a coffee shop for an occasional "fancy" cup of coffee as a treat.  My order is a half caf. skinny cappucino with one Splenda and I like it wet.  I have many fond memories of going out for coffee with my parents, my husband and friends. It's a simple and delightful way to spend time with someone.  So when I felt hopeless, I had something to look forward to.  It wasn't the caffeine I needed, I was drinking decaf at the time since I was nursing.  A cup of coffee was God's way of giving me a small pleasure in life to help carry me through to the better days.

Since then, a cup of coffee still helps me get my day started off on the right foot and has helped carry me through a bad day or two.  If you're having an especially bad day, find that small pleasure in life to give you something to look forward to and hang onto until your better days come.  Maybe it's a piece of chocolate or going for a walk or listening to your favorite music.  Just remember, "there's always coffee".  Care to join me for a cup?

p.s.  I am writing this post while I'm sitting at Starbucks by myself enjoying the coffee order I mentioned above.  I just returned from a wonderful morning walk to clear my head and take in the beauty of spring bursting forth here in St. Louis.  I feel recharged, refreshed and grateful...for coffee.