This morning I made my coffee much stronger than I usually do (not on purpose), and I have been bouncing around my house doing housework for over four hours now!!! I chattered like a squirrel to Thomas when he got up too. NOT like me, first thing in the morning, I can assure you. I'm wondering how the crash will be -- and this is only one cup of coffee...not even a mug...a cup!!I am not a coffee drinker; I mean to say I do not have to have coffee every day. That makes me a bit alien in my family. I grew up with parents and siblings who did, and still do, have to have multiple cups of coffee throughout the day. I started drinking coffee early, as young as 8 or 9 years old. It used to be the standard thing for children in America to drink coffee, sugared and with lots of milk or cream, probably, on a regular basis; and I believe that during my parents' childhoods in the 20s and 30s, it was still a common thing. So it must not have seemed a bad or strange thing to my parents for their kids to drink coffee early. I never thought about it until I was older and realized that not all kids drank coffee at 8 or 9 years old.
But I never drank it every day, and I never had to drink multiple cups of it. I've never had a "caffeine headache", although at times coffee has helped me with my migraines. I have at different times preferred it black, with sugar only, or with cream and sugar, and currently I prefer it sweet and with real cream. I do not use artificial sweeteners or flavored creamer. I do not like it extremely strong. I don't mind if it's scalding hot, lukewarm, or cold. I will not let a bit go to waste just because it isn't hot, and I won't bother to warm it up either. I drink it when I want it because I like the taste, not to be sociable, out of habit, or because I need a caffeine boost. I prefer to drink from a dainty coffee cup with a thin rim, not a mug or thick cup.
Thomas hasn't had coffee for at least 15 years now, since it started hurting his stomach. He never liked coffee but drank it because he would get a headache if he didn't have a cup every day. Since he discovered that a cold can of Pepsi would take care of his headache, that is what he has each morning to get him going. Neither of my kids drank coffee until just a few months ago when Eler Beth started drinking it. She had discovered cappuccino a few years ago, and had it once in a while, always very sweet and usually with a lot of flavored syrups added to it. She always said she liked the smell of coffee, but not the taste. Sometimes if I made bacon in the morning and it happened to be a day when I wanted coffee, she'd get up, sniff the air and say, "It smells like Mamaw's house!" (That's my Mom.) And she was right. That's the way my Mom's house smells of a morning, like coffee and bacon. I remember when I'd visit my grandfather (Mom's dad), his house always smelled like coffee too. And I would always have a cup when I was there because his water made such really good coffee. He always used Maxwell House. When I was growing up Mom and Dad always preferred Folgers. With their water Folger's tasted better, but at my house, having experimented with several name and generic brands, I have discovered that Maxwell House works best with our city water, even when filtered.
So a few months ago Eler Beth started drinking coffee a few times a week. Now quite often she's the one who makes the coffee in the morning. When she visited my Mom and the girls recently for a few days, she really enjoyed sitting and having a sociable cup of coffee with her Mamaw.
Lately I've been thinking of things I'd like to write about in my blog, and, as one does, I've been composing posts in my head. These have mostly been memories from my childhood, and it seems like almost every one has had something to do with food, or drink, or eating. So I've had an idea for a series of posts, and I might just get around to writing them one of these days. Perhaps this post will be the first of that series. Until then, hope you have a good day, with or without coffee!
