my friend claire once asked me why it is that i love coffee so much.
the ritual, i responded.
which is some of the answer, but not all of it, i suppose.
i can drink a small latte for hours. i can milk it (pun intended) for hours. i'll begin with it in the morning and it'll last me through the late afternoon.
i like the taste of coffee, but i don't love it.
there is a respect for the thing. for the knowledge that it's not nutrition--that that's not how it feeds me. i don't even particularly need the caffeine to wake me up in the morning.
it's self-care.
it's that first sip.
this morning that sip coupled coupled with the cool spring air made me think of vacation and the love of my friends and a few stolen weeks in sydney. it made me forget--if only for a moment--the clanging of the elevator repair to which i woke, the calls i need to make to secure an apartment, the work schedule that doesn't allow me to view the locations, the emails and messages that need to be sent out, and the near crippling stress which has snuck into my life over the last few weeks.
the coffee was a pause. the first sip, a moment of respite. a reminder that all will be well and i deserve to get up, dust myself off, and continue on. i am worth the fight.
all that in a morning coffee. not to bad, huh?