Coffee Contemplation

I love coffee, I love coffee, I love it so much that I am over here singing out loud about coffee as my co-workers look over to make sure that I am ok...so maybe I will quit singing about coffee quit so loudly. As you have read before books play a significant role in my own personal history, but what you may not know is I have been drinking coffee for as long as I have been reading books...in fact I may have been holding a cup as I learned to read...(I see it's gonna be an ellipse day...).  My Mamma grew up on a farm and in her house they got a cup of  coffee did chores and then came in for breakfast so she did not see anything wrong with giving her oldest daughter coffee at a fairly young age.  The other thing was my Mamma likes her coffee

wussy, sweet, and creamy so there was none of the bitterness that kids usually don't like.  Fast forward to the present and I now drink my coffee with the consistency of mud, the strength of battery acid, and nothing but a little cream to balance it out.  For that I blame my Daddy.  As the other adult in the house, not to mention one of the medical profession (ER docs for the win!) you would think that he would have nipped that coffee obsession in his way to young (according to those pesky so called health experts) daughter in the bud, but nope, he not only did not stop me, but he cultivated my taste for REAL coffee, not that flavored water stuff my dearest Mamma drinks.  Coffee plays a role in just about every memory I have, way back when I was younger I remember huddling over the heater grate with a blanket, a cup of coffee in my country blue plastic mug and my newest library book.  As I got older coffee became a family thing with a pot made by Daddy for breakfast every morning (Mamma watered hers down) making it possible for us to get out the door without killing each other.  I graduated to espresso drinks (Hey I'm a Seattle girl down to my coffee soaked bones) being the only 7 year old I know who would spend her allowance money on coffee.  Going to school in Seattle had it's perks because every high school had a coffee shop on campus, for real, I am not even joking, so that we could all get our fix before hitting class...I spent many hours discovering many books I was not supposed to read in those little coffee shops.  Moving to Montana for my Jr and Sr year made coffee all that much more important, which of course when my Daddy realized that all that coffee may not be the healthiest thing in the world and declared it of limits for the kids.  That is when I realized what an addiction is, seriously my grades dropped, I was an evil wench troll, I had major headaches, I felt horrible, I didn't even want to read and not just for a day or two either.  After that experience I never asked anybody why they couldn't just quit something like smoking 'cause there is no such thing as JUST QUITTING!  Needles to say Daddy quickly allowed me my coffee again, focusing on my younger sibs who were not quit as addicted as I was.  College years were rough on me, I was trying to do it all on my own, rent, work, school, theatre, friends, boyfriend, family, a lot going on and sometimes I just couldn't keep it together.  I knew though no matter how tough it was I could always run home for a cup of coffee.  I remember a particularly bad day...week...month, it

doesn't matter, all I know is I came through my parents front door, my Daddy took one look at me, handed me a cup of coffee, a special cookie, sent me up to my Mamma and promised to bring refills.  The best part about this memory is the love and comfort I got, I don't even remember what was wrong. Then the worlds best invention ever came along Barnes and Nobles and the rise of the book cafe.  Visiting for the first time was like a dream, I had to pinch myself, there were books, so many books, and coffee, so much coffee and I was encouraged to drink the coffee while reading books...I was never going to leave.  Life moved on and I met the guy who eventually become Hubbin and I knew he was awesome because he kept suggesting Barnes and Noble as a date place, and he would stay there with me for hours!  Seriously we thought about inviting the workers to our wedding we spent so much time there.  Eventually I moved away from my precious family, embarking on new adventures, but before we left my Daddy pulled (eventual) Hubbin aside and showed him the secret to happily living with me, and that was to make sure I had a cup of coffee before I ever got out of bed.  I am happy to report that I am the happy girl who has rarely been without a cup of coffee within minutes of

opening my eyes.  The funny thing is that Hubbin is now addicted.  Now that we are all scattered across the country I find my coffee time even more important, every time I sit down at a Barnes and Noble and sip my coffee while flipping through a book I feel connected to my Mamma, every time a sibling visits we start with a cup of coffee, every time I smell the aroma of fresh brewed coffee I feel like my Daddy is giving me a hug, when Hubbins family visits I impress his brother with my ability to find coffee ANYWHERE!  So yep coffee, books, and a few minutes to escape is all I need to be a happy girl!
Did you think it was possible for me to love anything as much as books?  What is your alternate addiction (other then books of course)?  How does one get a job drinking coffee and reading books?