When I was small, my Grandma Sullivan would fix me coffee. I don't know if she offered it to me first, or I begged to have it. Probably the latter, since I saw it was something most people in my family enjoyed. It was coffee for a child - mostly milk and sugar, and a little coffee - enough to taste it. I loved it! Grandma would serve the coffee in a special mug. I remember it made of orange plastic, but I think it was really something like melamine. It was durable and made to serve hot and cold beverages, with a pedestal at the bottom. The mug had an alligator on it with the words, "Florida, the Sunshine State." That was my favorite mug, and I wish I knew what happened to it! Mental note - ask Grandma about this later. Little did I know then that Florida was where my husband was growing up, with the alligators and all that sunshine.
As I got older, coffee continued to be a staple in our home, but I didn't begin drinking it regularly until roughly my eighth grade year. Coffee became my breakfast, and it still is. The thought of food in the morning doesn't do much for me. And then there's my mom. If there was a doll made in her image, her accessories would surely have included a white styrofoam cup with coffee from the Bridge Circle Deli. Light and sweet. AM and PM. Often made by a guy named Harry, who would later become her second husband and my step-father. But that's another story! I can still taste and smell that coffee - it was good stuff.
Through my adulthood, coffee has continued to sustain me. In the morning, it greets me with warmth and a little kick start to my day. In the afternoon, it's the pick me up I often need. I'm definitely a morning person, and that slump can hit me hard in the afternoon. In the evening, it's how I unwind. Coffee is something to share and enjoy with friends and family. Dozens of Sunday mornings with my parents and sister, listening to the Flashback radio show. Family parties each year and trying coffee as my Italian family enjoys it - fresh espresso with a little sambuca. Late nights with my mom, or mornings with my dad and step-mother, Claire. Marveling over my sister's new Ninja coffee machine, as we took a few minutes to enjoy one of our favorite treats together this summer. Coffee breaks with Jonathan - it's been great to have a friend who enjoys a cup with me.
Of course, there are still those memories of coffee with Grandma. The coffee in that old mug was such a treat! I realize now that my Grandma was including me in something special; yes, it made me feel incredibly grown up at the time, but it was also my first glimpse of the Coffee Club - something that has connected me to others all my life. Oh, what a simple beverage can do!
As I got older, coffee continued to be a staple in our home, but I didn't begin drinking it regularly until roughly my eighth grade year. Coffee became my breakfast, and it still is. The thought of food in the morning doesn't do much for me. And then there's my mom. If there was a doll made in her image, her accessories would surely have included a white styrofoam cup with coffee from the Bridge Circle Deli. Light and sweet. AM and PM. Often made by a guy named Harry, who would later become her second husband and my step-father. But that's another story! I can still taste and smell that coffee - it was good stuff.
Through my adulthood, coffee has continued to sustain me. In the morning, it greets me with warmth and a little kick start to my day. In the afternoon, it's the pick me up I often need. I'm definitely a morning person, and that slump can hit me hard in the afternoon. In the evening, it's how I unwind. Coffee is something to share and enjoy with friends and family. Dozens of Sunday mornings with my parents and sister, listening to the Flashback radio show. Family parties each year and trying coffee as my Italian family enjoys it - fresh espresso with a little sambuca. Late nights with my mom, or mornings with my dad and step-mother, Claire. Marveling over my sister's new Ninja coffee machine, as we took a few minutes to enjoy one of our favorite treats together this summer. Coffee breaks with Jonathan - it's been great to have a friend who enjoys a cup with me.
Of course, there are still those memories of coffee with Grandma. The coffee in that old mug was such a treat! I realize now that my Grandma was including me in something special; yes, it made me feel incredibly grown up at the time, but it was also my first glimpse of the Coffee Club - something that has connected me to others all my life. Oh, what a simple beverage can do!
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