advertisement
-
The sweet, sweet liquid that keeps this mother on track.
A while back, I changed my username on this site to "coffeezen". This was before I decided to sound more professional around here. You know. Last week? But there was a reason why I chose this name, and I really feel like I should explain it to you before I get to the real story in this blog entry.
As we all know, motherhood can drive a person completely insane. There's the cleaning, the laundry, the surprise laundry when your child has an accident at preschool, the lunch making, the finding something kid-friendly on television, the playdates, the futile attempts to plan anything, and the list goes on. Like any good mother, I strive forth with diligence. However, I would not be able to strive forth if I didn't have the one thing that helps to clear my mind and bring me a moment of blissful peace: coffee.
I know it sounds absurd. Isn't caffeine supposed to make you jittery? How can caffeine bring a person peace? See, you have to understand something about me. I am a caffeine addict. If I don't have it, I lose it. Thus, the need for coffee zen.
I will explain the zen part in just a moment. I want to tell you my story first.
I received a gift card from my mother in law for Christmas instead of a gift. Normally, I love this. I get to pick out my own gift, she gets that gift-giving satisfaction, and all is well. This year, however, I was at a loss as to what to use my card for. I don't need anything, I don't want anything, and I generally hate shopping. Regardless, I packed my son Marc up in the car and headed out for some gift card spending.
I made that poor little boy walk up and down the aisles looking at stuff I didn't know whether or not I wanted. He was such a trooper. "Hey, an espresso machine!" he said. "You want one of these, right?" He was right. I did want one. I stood in the coffee machine aisle for about ten minutes trying to justify the purchase. Do I really want it? Will I actually use it? Is there something more practical I could get instead?
"Mom, can we go look at toys now?" The simple question snapped me out of my indecisive state.
"Hold on, I have to decide what I'm gonna get." I swear, he rolled his eyes at me. I can't prove it. Did you know that nine year olds can roll their eyes? They can.
"Mom," he said, with a tone of voice that is usually reserved for teenage frustration. "Just get it or don't get it. But you should get it. Can we look at toys now?" Wow. He really put me in my place. And somehow, in all of his annoyance toward the situation, he was completely right. I wanted it. I got it. It was a gift. I dropped it into the cart and headed off towards the toys. Simple as that. What a wise little man!
Now, for the zen part. You see, this evening served me up a frenzy of diaper changing, kid shuffling, and a baby peeing on the floor. Yes, a baby peed on the floor. If ever I needed to focus on the simple things in life, it was tonight. After cleaning up the baby pee, I headed into kitchen to open my delicious gift. I followed all of the instructions, washed all the parts, put the water into the reservoir, ground the beans finely, and watched as the sweet espresso dripped into the carafe. According to the instructions, I had 3-5 minutes to find my tiny espresso cups that had never been used.
I found them, and then I took part in a ritual I had never taken part in before, yet seemed so natural. I set the tiny cup on the counter and watched myself as I carefully sprinkled a small amount of sugar into the bottom. I like my coffee sweet, but not too sweet. I then watched my hand as it grasped the handle of the carafe, and gently poured the brown liquid into the glass cup. I watched as the espresso hit the bottom of the cup and rose to the rim. I set the carafe on the counter, then I gently sipped my first sip. I thought of nothing as I tasted the coffee. It wasn't any old coffee; it was strong and earthy espresso. My focus was not on peeing babies. It was only on the deep, warm, soul-hugging flavor of freshly brewed espresso. End of ritual, but not because I was done. It was because there was a screaming baby upstairs.
It's funny how a baby screaming protests of bedtime can break a mama of a zen moment. Fortunately, my husband had that under control. And thanks to my new little device, I can have a few more moments of zen in my life!
Great blog--I love a cup of freshly brewed coffee and the smell of ground beans! Wishing you many moments of tranquility savoring a cup of one of your coffee masterpieces!I have to confess that I do not drink coffee, but I do understand what you mean about one little ritual bringing that blissful moment! Enjoy your new toy!I'm guessing your mother-in-law would be happy you bought something fun for yourself! I've been known to add a note to gift cards reminding the recipient NOT to use it for t.p. or cleaning supplies!
May 2013 Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Tagsmotherhood (12)
school (10)
family (9)
parenting (7)
growing up (6)
fibromyalgia (5)
birthday (4)
bullies (4)
kids (4)
toddlers (4)
anxiety (3)
divorce (3)
normal (3)
stress (3)
video games (3)
accident (2)
awesome (2)
baseball (2)
brother (2)
children (2)
christmas (2)
chronic illness (2)
death (2)
er (2)
hair (2)
holidays (2)
life (2)
love (2)
money (2)
news (2)
nintendo (2)
obama (2)
presents (2)
recycling (2)
religion (2)
siblings (2)
sick (2)
son (2)
taxes (2)
tradition (2)
unemployment (2)
valentine (2)
writing (2)
9/11 (1)
acting (1)
adrenal insufficiency (1)
adult (1)
advice (1)
afentra (1)
affirmation (1)
alone (1)
american (1)
animal control (1)
animal rights (1)
april fools (1)
attacks (1)
aunt (1)
babies (1)
babysitting (1)
backyard (1)
bad day (1)
bedtime (1)
bin laden (1)
bionicle (1)
birth (1)
body (1)
bonding (1)
brothers (1)
busy mom (1)
calm (1)
car (1)
car theft (1)
car trouble (1)
carnival (1)
casey anthony (1)
caterpillars (1)
cel phone (1)
celebration (1)
celebrities (1)
changes (1)
charity (1)
chicken (1)
classroom (1)
cleanliness (1)
clothes (1)
clothing (1)
clutter (1)
co parenting (1)
co sleeping (1)
comicon (1)
community (1)
competition (1)
confession (1)
dad (1)
dating (1)
daughter (1)
dead animal (1)
deals (1)
debate (1)
debt (1)
decisions (1)
decorations (1)
depression (1)
diapers (1)
dinner (1)
disconnect (1)
diverticulitis (1)
doctor (1)
doctor who (1)
doctors (1)
dollhouse (1)
drama (1)
ds (1)
easter (1)
education (1)
election (1)
employment (1)
espresso (1)
facebook (1)
families (1)
family bed (1)
fantasy (1)
faq (1)
fat (1)
fears (1)
feminism (1)
fever (1)
fifth grade (1)
filing (1)
finances (1)
first (1)
friend (1)
fun (1)
gay (1)
gay marriage (1)
geek (1)
global (1)
goals (1)
god (1)
good moms (1)
goodbye (1)
grades (1)
graffiti (1)
gratitude (1)
groceries (1)
grown-up (1)
guns (1)
haircut (1)
halloween (1)
handmade (1)
happiness (1)
happy thoughts (1)
hard times (1)
hate (1)
high school (1)
hip (1)
holiday (1)
home (1)
home alone (1)
honesty (1)
hunger (1)
hurricane (1)
internet (1)
interviews (1)
jobs (1)
joke (1)
joplin (1)
judgement (1)
karma (1)
kcmo (1)
lake (1)
lawyers (1)
lgbtq (1)
liberal (1)
libya (1)
louisburg (1)
mini van (1)
miniature (1)
minimalism (1)
moderation (1)
momless (1)
montessori (1)
motehrhood (1)
museum (1)
nag (1)
nanowrimo (1)
neighbors (1)
new car (1)
new year (1)
new york (1)
newtown (1)
nothing (1)
novel (1)
obsession (1)
occupy wall street (1)
occupykc (1)
ogres (1)
older (1)
organizing (1)
ozarks (1)
paintball (1)
paranoia (1)
parking lot (1)
pasta (1)
peaceful (1)
pee (1)
pencils (1)
permission (1)
perspective (1)
persuasive (1)
politics (1)
positivity (1)
potty training (1)
poverty (1)
practical (1)
prayer (1)
president (1)
principles (1)
prison (1)
puberty (1)
public (1)
pumpkin patch (1)
questions (1)
raccoon (1)
radio (1)
rage (1)
rainbow (1)
real life (1)
recipe (1)
remembering (1)
renaissance festival (1)
resolutions (1)
restaurants (1)
roller coaster (1)
romney (1)
router (1)
royals (1)
sadness (1)
sahm (1)
salesmen (1)
sandwich (1)
sandy (1)
sauce (1)
self esteem (1)
serotonin (1)
sharing (1)
shooting (1)
shopping (1)
single (1)
sister (1)
sleep (1)
slumber party (1)
spaghetti (1)
sports (1)
spring (1)
spring break (1)
spying (1)
star trek (1)
star wars (1)
state fair (1)
storm (1)
style (1)
super mom (1)
superheroes (1)
tantrums (1)
teachers (1)
teaching (1)
teasing (1)
temperance (1)
ten (1)
texting (1)
thanksgiving (1)
threats (1)
three (1)
tiger mom (1)
time (1)
tired (1)
toddler (1)
tornado (1)
trash (1)
tv (1)
vacation (1)
vacuum cleaner (1)
video (1)
violin (1)
visit (1)
voting (1)
war (1)
warming (1)
wifi (1)
wohm (1)
women (1)
wow (1)
zelda (1)
zen (1)