5 Magical Ingredients In My Sacred Cup of Coffee

A single mom’s love letter to her cup of Joe.

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This is my third cup of coffee of the day. Alien spaceships are swirling around my brain. It feels like they are preparing for inter-galactic battle. I’m settled down on my desk. My toddler son is napping in his room. As I take a sip of my coffee that’s still too hot to gulp down, I’m reminded of:

exploding sunshine in the spring.

laughter on the beach in the summer.

musky smell of the forest in the fall.

rustling of the fire in the winter.

Oh sweet cup of Joe, you are so much more than the 5 minutes it took to prepare you. It almost doesn’t matter if I made you with my coffee maker, the dripping device, French press, or from instant powder, I can’t get enough of your luscious black face.

Memory

I look back and think about the one year I lived without you. That one year was bland and tasteless. As my baby kicked me in the stomach every night, I dreamed of gulping down a gallon of you after he was born. Yes, people celebrate birth with their drink of choice: wine, champagne.

For me, it had to be: You.

You see, when I was young, your sister: Tea accompanied me on my days. She was sweet. But, she lacked a certain punch. I never quite felt complete spending my days with her. Even with a little milk and the swirl of the latte cup, she didn’t make me beam like you do.

Milk

As I pour a dash of white into you, stirring gently with my spoon, I am reminded of your cushiony softness. As the cream cuts away your acidity, I imagine hugging your creamy texture in my belly.

Sugar

As much as I want to top you off with low fat imitation sugar to sooth my own dieting urges, I rather see you dazzle in pure 100% brown sugar. Oh how the little crystals of sugar melt and dissipate into your creamy brown body. Your silkiness sways between each stir.

Ice Cream

As if you are not creamy enough with milk, I finish you off with a spoonful of vanilla ice cream. When that dab of white creaminess dip into your brown contentment, a strong longing to consume explodes inside me. But, I know better.

You are better if I wait.

As ice cream cools down your brown entirety, you will be more willing to relinquish all your sweet juice in one go.

Inspiration

You are not quite complete until I close my eyes. That 1 minute of silence as I bring my cup ever so close to my nose to savor your sweet aroma takes my longing to the next level. I feel the strong pull in my groin turn into a sudden compulsion as my lips touch the cup’s rim.

I hold one thought in my mind, as my lips touch your caramel body:

Serenity

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In the last few years, you are the best part of my morning. As I watched my son grow, I wanted your presence all throughout my days. I diluted you into multiple cups without a thought about the effects. I watered you down like a mother who is spreading her love far and wide to touch all her children. I drank each cup of your deliciousness with the same open heart and mind.

You stayed with me all throughout my days.

Sometimes, when I felt rebellious, I made you strong. Your strength lifted me out of my fog. Your strength empowered me on endless weekend outings.

Recently, my son found a new hobby in you. He’s pretending to drink you through his “coffee sensory bottle”. His dolls took dips into the cup where you reside. You let him pour you from cup to cup just to amuse him.