Morning Coffee

I never was a coffee drinker until about four years ago but now I have to have at least two cups every morning before I can start my busy day. I started drinking coffee as an evening treat when my husband, daughter and I went on the "Fatkins" :-) diet. Because fats are allowed in the diet we could have a cup of coffee laden with cream, even topped with whipped cream if desired. We would cheat sometimes and have it with Irish cream. It was most delicious! The weight came off but I became addicted to the aromatic bean. Because of this, I now actually enjoy getting up early, I do mean early - 5:30ish, so I can savor the warm, comforting cup of java. I find it very relaxing to sit with cup in hand, read the paper and work the crossword. I find mornings are also better for writing because I am more alert and retrospective so I sit at the keyboard, sipping and tapping away. It is wonderfully quiet at this time of day. It is still dark outside and there is only an occasional car going by. I can watch the sun come up and see the neighbors' lights flick on one by one as they emerge from their slumber. Slowly the quiet is replaced with the chirping of birds, the meowing of the neighbor's cat who loves to sit on our porch just outside my office window, the telltale squeak of the shower faucet indicating my husband has arisen, more traffic and eventually the laughter and chattering of the schoolkids as they wait at the bus stop in front of our house. Then the sound of the bedroom door opening and I know I must arise from my seat to take my turn in the shower and begin my workday. On weekends, I tend to still arise early but with the knowledge that I can crawl back into bed for a snooze before I actually start the activities of the day and the coffee is only sweeter because of this.
I suppose I have become very selfish with my time because I still enjoy the evenings when most everyone else is asleep (refer to previous blog entry Night Owls). But the evenings are a different, more active, more noisy type of unwinding as opposed to the gentle winding up of the mornings. And I rarely like to have my cup of Joe to go.