(Half Awake)
I love my back deck. It's not big. It's not fancy. It's just right. The best time of the day for me is at sunrise. I love to sit out there with my cup of coffee and just....breathe. All alone in my moment of peace and quiet. While I love my deck, and my peaceful morning moment, I love my coffee more. I didn't used to be a coffee drinker. My parents didn't drink coffee, so I really wasn't around it much. When my grandparents or my parents friends, who were coffee drinkers would come to visit, they would be served Sanka. Instant coffee. Remember Sanka? I wonder if they even make it anymore. It came in a glass jar with an orange cover. My dad would store his little nails in those jars. Anyway, it wasn't until after high school, when was on my own, that I discovered that coffee could be a very good friend to me. Especially the morning "after!" But, I had to add either 5,345 Sweet and Lows or 7,887 spoons of sugar and a cup of milk to drink it. About 10 years ago, Tim and I were at a family get together at his mom and dad's house. Our nephew, Tylor was about 8 or so, and asked if he could go to the store and get a "treat." He came back with what he thought was a new special flavored milk. That new milk was actually French Vanilla CoffeeMate. Of course he was told he couldn't drink it, but not wanting it to go to waste, Tim's mom put on a pot of coffee and we tried it. As soon as I raised the cup to my lips, I was overcome with the tantalizing aroma of vanilla. It reminded me of the frosting my grandma used to put on my birthday cakes. I loved it. The coffee was so smooth and had just the right amount of sweetness. Nothing at all like the overly, bitterly, sugary, grainy, sweet stuff I had been know to drink on occasion. That first sip was the beginning of my CoffeeMate addiction. I can't even say I am addicted to coffee. It's not the coffee. It's the Mate! I will admit that I was so addicted at first, that I was drinking an entire pot of coffee every morning. By myself! I gained weight and I couldn't sleep at night. I was fat and wired! Because Osteoporosis runs in my family and coffee is a major bone marrow sucker, I knew I had a problem and needed to make some changes. So I switched to the fat free version, (I honestly can't tell the difference) and I now only have two (big) cups each morning. It wasn't a huge change, but I did it all on my own without attending any meetings! I am not ready to give it up all together though.
I will just take it one step at a time....
