Every time I visit and spend time with my mother, there's always coffee or tea involved. It could be the morning coffee with breakfast, a cozy afternoon tea on a cool and blustery day, or even a cup of coffee later in the evening after a relaxing dinner. (Some of you know what I'm talking about.)
These comforting and soothing beverages, though found in various forms—hot and iced, sweet and unsweet, with milk or black—all have one thing in common: They're little sips of joy in our day. Put aside the fact that a raging headache will undoubtedly arise if too much time passes between consumption ...
Almost all my memories dating back years and years, no matter the context, all include a visual of a treasured teacup or well-loved mug. In my most nostalgic moments—which frankly, are quite often—I find myself musing over a cup about what's come to pass, what's here in the moment, and what's yet to come.
In college, I'd set up shop in a coffee shop for hours and hours at a time, some days reading and writing book reports all in one sitting. (They should have given me a degree in procrastination, honestly.) Though a coffee shop is an obvious place to get some work done, there's something about being among people also enjoying their choice brews, moving about their day, that always sat well with me. This warm corner of my world, no matter the season, never failed to leave me creatively inspired in one way or another.
I've even gotten back in an incredibly long line at Home Goods to wait for a second time after spotting an oversized Peanuts "Great Pumpkin Believer" mug on my way out of the store. I simply couldn't pass it up. Cute mugs make everything better.
So, this is me sharing my appreciation coffee and tea and the radical act of choosing to slow down to enjoy something as simple as a warm cup. Hell, you could sneak some Baileys in there if you really want to.
Cheers to that!
Written by Sarah Suydam, Staff Writer for West Michigan Woman.
