I don't normally make new year's resolutions, but for this year, I was thinking about two things I wanted to change. My coffee drinking habits was one of them.
My relationship with Coffee is fairly new. It wasn't until William was almost one, that I became a daily drinker. Until then, I would have a cup (usually something fu-fu with whipped cream) when going out to a cafe or visiting friends. My actual addiction started when my team at work started making french press coffee in the mornings. For the first month or so, I could still go without coffee on non-workdays. But after a while we started having coffee in the afternoons too, and I was hooked.
Now, I know 2 cups of coffee a day is not the end of the world. What I didn't like about it, was that I was addicted. If I skipped my coffee, I would get a head ache, and usually by the time the head ache had set in, drinking coffee didn't kill it. Most of the time, it is not difficult to get my coffee fix, but when traveling or being too busy with house projects (or whatever else we were doing during the 3 month haze leading up to our move), it's not always convenient to make/get coffee.
The thing about me and coffee is that I don't drink it for the caffeine. I actually don't think the caffeine has any affect on me. I drink it because it tastes oh-so-good! Another thing about me and coffee is that I have to have something sweet with it. A piece of chocolate. A slice of pie. A cookie. Something sweet. I don't like coffee with breakfast really, since I don't eat sweet breakfast. Coffee and oatmeal doesn't really work. However, a bagel with cream cheese and a good cup of dark roast is wonderful!
Moving to Sweden, where the majority drink a lot of coffee, I found myself drinking coffee on both of our daily fika breaks at work. Having fika is a way of socializing, and it always involves a cup of coffee or tea and usually some pastries to go with it. However, coffee is more often "enjoyed" in Sweden, than "downed" like it often is in the US.
So, my new year's resolution regarding my coffee habits was to skip my morning coffee. If not every day, then often enough to where I didn't depend on it. It didn't take long to get over the withdrawals, and now I only have my afternoon coffee on most days. I can have a morning coffee when I want to, but not have to have it. I will have to call this a success.
Life is full of surprises. I am taking a day off today. Things have been tough lately (work related) and sometimes you don’t make time to think about life. I was thinking to send you an email to ask you how things are going for you. It is a beautiful day today in Calgary. It is sunny outside. Anna woke me up to show me her outfit. She looked beautiful and so big… I went to the living room; Erika gave me, as always, a good morning kiss and gave me coffee. I went to wake up Emma. She looked at me and said “I love you, papi, but stop kissing me I am sleeping…” I just heard that she loves me…
ReplyDeleteI was taking a shower and thought that I am a blessed man. My wife and my girls really love me and they make me very happy. Emma and I went to take Anna to her school bus stop but this time I decided to bring my camera to take some pics, they looked so beautiful. Then, I went to Facebook to post some pics and sow your blog. I read the last one; about coffee. It reminds me of this song: “I drink good coffee every morning; It comes from a place that's far away; and when I'm done I feel like talking…” I like the song because of those three sentences that apply to my life. I used to work in the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia. So, I heard many coffee stories but I remembered one in particular. It is a story about a carrot an egg and a coffee bean. I searched on-line and I found it. You might have read this story before but I wanted to be the first to comment in your post… I want to share it with you. By the way, I consider myself a coffee bean…
I hope that you, William, Chris, father, mother and brother are doing well. The Rodriguez-Tan family miss you!!!
Carrot, Egg or Coffee Bean?
ReplyDeleteYou will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.
A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed that as one problem was solved, a new one arose.
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In the first, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word.
In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She then pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.
Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do you see?"
"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.
She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.
The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, Mother?"
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity -- boiling water -- but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.
"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?"
Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity? Do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?
Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart?
Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor of your life. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate to another level?
How do you handle adversity? Are you changed by your surroundings or do you bring life, flavor, to them?
ARE YOU A CARROT, AN EGG, OR A COFFEE BEAN?
~ Author Unknown ~
Thank you German for commenting! I am glad to hear you are taking the time to enjoy and appreciate your girls, when things are getting tough. Hope the work situation is getting better!
ReplyDeleteI like the story about the carrot, the egg and the coffee bean. A coffee bean is good to be. I wish I was a coffee bean. Right now I feel more like the egg :( This move has been really hard on all of us and I have kind of lost my spirit. I am planning to take some (7 weeks) vacation/maternity leave this summer to rest and enjoy my family and hopefully get my spirit back :)
Thanks again for commenting! I miss you and your family a lot!
Hugs, Lena