Tell me a story about coffee
Three months after Jeff's chemotherapy treatments
Before January 2022, Jeff was in charge of making the coffee every Saturday morning. I would get up early for my long run and come home to a freshly brewed pot. The smell wafted through the air as I unlaced my sweaty sneakers.
We would each grab a mug, sit down at the table, and chat. It became our Saturday ritual until cancer showed up. Saturday mornings changed fast.
I would get home from a run and find Jeff on the couch asleep. The kids playing together in the back room. The coffee pot—empty. I missed our morning routine together.
I made the coffee. Maybe he will sit with me and talk. I hoped the smell would wake Jeff up. Sometimes it did but most Saturdays it didn’t. He was so tired.
He struggled to get going in the morning. If he managed to get up and ready by 10 a.m. it was considered a good Saturday. More often than not, he wouldn't feel like moving until 2 or 3 p.m.
It was hard.
Yet on August 21, 2022, I came into the house from a long run and my nose inhaled coffee beans. I smiled. Is Jeff up? Did Jeff make coffee?
Jeff was awake standing in the kitchen. He made a pot of coffee. He gave me a grin then went back to the couch. We didn’t sit at the table and chat that day. It was okay.
He was up and he made us coffee.
Tell me a story about coffee…
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Thank you for being here with me and for your interest in my work,
Julie
I have many coffee stories. My friends Sheila, Betti and I are coffee drinkers and when we travel we can't wait to try the coffee. We did an Eastern European trip a few years back and intentionally did a 20 hour layover in Istanbul. We wanted to try real Tukish coffee, not knowing really the process. We arrived at out hotel, the gentleman checking us in asked if we wanted coffee, Sheila accepted the offer. She took a couple sips and said "This is good coffee." Sheila wondered if it was authentic Turkish coffee and asked the gentalman "What kind of coffee is this?" We were shocked when his response was "Nescafe." Sheila, Betti and I burst out laughing. We tend to be a bit snobby about coffee and would not choose to drink Nescafe unless it was the only option. I will attest to the fact that Nescafe in Turkey is not the same as in the US.
I think the best cofee I hadwaswhen a friend and I was hiking the Finger Lake trial about 10 years ago. It was Sping and very cold and we had our cold weather gear. We hiked through Watkins Glen and over the train treasel as the park was not open yet. We went one day out and at the evening of day one we made camp. Being both exhausted I boiled water for dinner and my buddy tossed me a Christmas Dark roast coffee mix packet." Merry Christmas!" he said. We both laughed as we had nonidea how long the packets were in his bag. We both had a hot cup of coffee out there in the woods next to the stream in the dark. After the long day it was one of the best tasting coffees I have had so far.