The Ordinary Details of Life: Musings for a Thursday Morning over Coffee

-

I have a confession to make. I only know how to make coffee one way—in a French press. I haven’t used an automatic drip machine in so many years that I would have to read directions—water to coffee
proportion, anyway—to get it going. And percolators? I’ve never figured them out. I have to ask my SE (spousal equivalent) every time, running the risk of getting that raised-brow, you-have-got-to-be-kidding-me look. So, French press it is
                I am perfectly content with this morning ritual. Heat the water, two heaping scoops of coarsely ground coffee beans (yes, I do prefer to grind my own), fill the pot and give it a quick stir with my favorite wooden spoon and place the press part on the tempered glass pot. Four minutes later, I push the plunger and voila! Perfect coffee.

Funny that I should find the preparation of a known stimulant so relaxing. I think it’s the comfort of knowing that if you do the same thing in the same way time after time you will get the same result. And there it is, the fine line between taking shelter and stunting one’s growth—old wives’ tales governing the dangers of giving coffee to children notwithstanding.

My mind wanders to a quote erroneously attributed to Albert Einstein about the definition of insanity—doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.
              In my own words, “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.” I don’t know how much this has to do with being crazy. I do, after all, make a fine pot of coffee based on this principle. But there are times—many times—when altering your approach paves the way to personal growth. I’ve learned, for example, that if I leave my car windows down every time it rains, my seats will get wet. And so, I’ve altered my approach. Mostly. Sometimes I forget and that’s OK. I practice the Art of Self-Forgiveness. And anyway, that’s why God created the towel. Not during those first essential six days of creation, of course. Things like light, fish of the sea and fowls of the air would have taken precedence, but probably in the following week or so. Or maybe not until after a heart-to-heart with Noah after the flood.

“No disrespect, Sir,” said Noah, “The dove and the rainbow were cool and all, but we could really use something to sop up this mess.”

And the Lord said, “Let there be Towels.” And He saw the absorbency and saw that it was Good.

Something like that.

Coffee beans and French presses came much later—for girls like me who are grateful for life’s simple pleasures.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Juicy Peach

-
Image
Today I invite you to take everything you know to be true about yourself—and let it go. Let it go and see what happens. When you give yourself enough distance to see things from a new perspective, you change the way you see yourself. Reclaim your positive truths; re-write the not-so positive ones. Go on, take an honest look... I let go of this belief about myself long enough for it to come around again, to stay for keeps this time: I am a writer. If the truth were to be told, in letting go, in stopping writing, I discovered that this is who I am. I write. I cannot help but write. I have begun again and now I can’t seem to stop. I don’t want to stop. Other beliefs I let go of seem to have gone for good—I am unworthy; I am unpretty; I am alone; I hate baking—and have made space for new beliefs. Better ones. If someone had told me, as recently as six weeks ago, that I would not only fall in love with baking, but be quite good at it, I would have completely dismissed thi...
Read more

True Romance

-
Image
It’s a chilly Monday morning in August. Sixty-two degrees and the sun is coming up over the trees. This is my favorite time of year, these days in late summer that foretell the coming of autumn. “Autumn,” by the way, is one of my favorite words and always has been.                   The leaves are still very much green, but I’ve begun to see vibrantly orange-colored ones dotting the lawn. Yesterday afternoon at the picnic table, a maple leaf let loose and floated down, landing in a bowl sitting next to me at the table. Fall… My beau finds this time of year melancholy. The ending of another summer, he says. In conversation on this subject, however, I am presented with my own realization that I have always seen autumn as a time for beginnings. The start of school, the joy of new pens, pencils, three-ring binders… sweater season —and my birthday, marking the beginning of the journey of another year...
Read more

Recipe Schmecipe

-
Image
Here is one of the most annoying things about me. I’m reluctant to say that, actually, because I don’t really consider myself to be all that annoying. Then again, who does really? It rarely occurs to us that the things we take for granted about ourselves might drive someone else to distraction. Also, I don’t believe in engaging in negative self-talk. So… I am quirky and I tend to wander off a bit. In a good way. Here’s what I’m talking about… I love to cook and I love to write about it—and recently, I’ve gotten into the habit of photographing my food. This can be inconvenient if I happen to be really hungry since I take the time to try to make my meal look good on a plate. I’ve been known to change plates half-way through. Better photo op.                 Then there’s the angle and the lighting and the conversation that takes place between my growling stomach and my right-side brain. ...
Read more