Remember when I wrote this? So young! So innocent! So well rested!
Because though I happily and easily spent 28 years and 9 months never needing or drinking coffee (frothy and sweet concoctions are a different story and obviously don’t count), 6 weeks with a newborn had me bowing before the carafe alter.
And I love it.
Scenario 1: I teach MWF this semester, and after those glorious 2 semesters in a row of not teaching, thus, not having to really do my hair as much (because one does not simply show up to teach without coiffed hair!) and rolling in when I wanted – I have to get it together. And it is not easy. We need to leave at 8:15 to get Henry to childcare and me to my office, which means waking up early (for me- I know some of you start days way earlier and bravo for you). I know that I have to get up by 6:15 for the morning to not be hectic, that I have to do everything but get dressed before Henry wakes at 7. The hour and some change that we are up together is consumed with final details, nursing, breakfast, cuddles, etc. I also know that my days need some quiet and calm at their beginning, and I have always been notoriously bad at actually making it out of bed to read my Bible for a bit.
But then coffee.
I do not like drinking my coffee on the go, and when my alarm goes off and alllll I want is more sleep – I realize that if I can just make it into the kitchen and to the pot – it is going to be ok. I will have my calm, drink my quiet, and be ready to start the day. Because I want that time, I make it out of bed.
Scenario 2: On Tuesday’s and Thursday’s, I get to be home with Henry and I love it. I don’t have to roll out of bed early (because helloooooo dayjamas at home!), but the couple hours before he naps at nine are still a kind of crazy time of being with him and working a little on all the myriad things that need doing. Starting laundry, tidying up, unloading dishes, starting dinner (because we crockpot HARD in this family!), extracting objects from his mouth, his hands, his hair – it flies by. I also start thinking through my lofty goals for naptime and the day. The pages of my dissertation I need to write, the emails that need sending, the workouts that will (not)happen, and it pretty quickly rises to overwhelm me.
But then coffee.
I don’t drink it early on those days, saving it as my naptime reset, telling myself during the flurry that if I can just make it to 9:00 – I can make it forever. Cup poured, scripture read, emails done, and I feel ready to conquer anything by the end of that coffee soaked naptime. He naps easily and predictably now, but when it was still a battle, that promise of coffee and calm to come sustained me.
Scenario 3: Coffee dates, Saturday mornings, lengthy brunches, Whole30 reduced menus, instant bonding over universal addictions – coffee is the answer.
Because coffee is energy. It is ritual. It is pause. It is community. It is warmth. It is serenity, not because of any one aspect of what is in it, but because of some conglomerate of virtues, qualities, and associations that make it a very, very special part of my day – however that day might look afterwards. It is a soothing liquid flowing underneath the bridges of busy days and tired seasons.
I know the rest of you are rolling your eyes because you have been here for a long while, but though I am late, I’m happy to join you. I know it’s basic and unoriginal and cliché and ridiculous, but that universal appeal of a totally normal thing is its charm.
Let’s pour a cup and settle in. 
Side note: James made fun of me at length when I asked him to snap these pics and he actually jotted down this list while I was pouring a cup, only to reveal it afterwards and mock me for hitting every cliché in the book. Thanks husband, for keeping me humble and fighting that urge to be an Instagram husband. Also for knowing me well. 
The Art in Life 
I love this. I too am dabbling in coffee drinking. Kevin – a long time fan of the stuff – is delighted. Sounds like you guys have an awesome schedule going!! So glad you’re doing well.
It is a really great schedule! At least, it would be if Henry would stop sensing when I wake up early and trying to join in the early morning party… ; )
Welcome to da club! Coffee will save your soul. I’ve been trying to get up earlier to read and drink (coffee) in the morning, and though it’s been hard, it’s always worth it. ❤
http://www.wonderlandsam.com
Thanks! It REALLY does!
Dear Hannah, I, too, was late to the coffee bar. Then I read a suggestion from a new mother who simply NEEDE to have coffee in her life for survival. Her mother had told her to put MOLASSES in her cffe, and she was hooked! I started adding about a teaspoon of the delicious brown syrup to the bitter brown liquid, and when combined they are blissfully s-m-o-o-t-h-e. I came to find out the molasses has some health benefits, too, so it’s a win/win! Blessings on you coffee/devo/quiet time.
https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/other/health-benefits-of-molasses.html
Oh wow- I am intrigued! Maybe when we eventually end this Whole30, I will give it a shot!
I made it all the way through college. And then I caved, and wondered why I had held out so long. Welcome to the wonderful world of life with coffee!
I mean, there is still a special point of pride in not succumbing to the addiction when everyone else was in college. : )
WELCOME.
THANK YOU. IT IS WONDERFUL HERE.
love this (and the post you wrote pre-coffee). i didn’t start until i was 22 (i’m 27 now), so i get feeling late to the game – but speaking for myself (and probably lots of long-time coffee drinkers), i don’t hate talking about a love for coffee! whether it’s a new love or you’ve been loving it since middle school. it’s too good to shame you for waiting so long. welcome, welcome.
also – i just recently read “it starts with food,” where they mention eating BEFORE coffee. i haven’t done a whole30 yet, but i was wondering if you still do coffee first (on those mornings you have to be up at 6:15).
It is just kind of an amazing bonding thing!
Ok, true confessions time: I never actually read the book. I know, I know, but even my (probably not as intense) whole30’s do wonders. I break some rules, like the snack ban (because I become an angry person without snacks) and I do have coffee first on the early mornings, because Henry and I eat breakfast together at 8:15. I prefer it after food, but I don’t like eating that early. And it really hasn’t impacted my food cravings adversely or anything. I do try to chug a big glass of water before switching to coffee!
Welcome to the coffee club! 🙂 ♡ Loved this post. It struck every cord of the last six months for me!
Welcome to the club and thanks for the reminder to set the timer so I can wake up to coffee.
I’m not a coffee drinker but I do respect the addiction to it that others have (i.e. my own husband). A friend of mine, who used to manage a cafe down the road, helped me find a coffee drink I can order when I need just a little more than my morning tea (that’s my pause and my bringer of calm) or want to join in on friends’ coffee orders – single shot latte with soooooooo much sugar. But my can’t-start-the-day-(well)-until-this-is-consumed thing is breakfast. I. Must. Have. Breakfast. And then all is right with the world. And not a bowl of cereal that likes to make me think I’m full for the next hour or some granola and berries to make me feel “healthy”. I need eggs! I need toast! And then you can talk to me 🙂 Also, I’m glad Henry’s napping more consistently for you. Isn’t it amazing?!
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