Cherished Coffee Memories

This morning I reached up in the cupboard for an unopened can of coffee and ceremoniously removed the foil. Ahhhhhh, the aroma that escaped was positively delicious.  It is my fervent hope that Heaven serves coffee, cuz there's no way my soul will tolerate Eternity without it. (Maybe I'm being a bit presumptuous.)

Have you noticed the price of coffee in the grocery stores?  A large can ranges anywhere from $8 to $15, and the brand we buy depends entirely on the price of the day.  My only unwavering requirement is that it be a dark roast, rich, and strong, with a hefty kick.  No fairy pee for me.

Coffee Creamer Glass
My First Coffee Cup

My Maternal Gramma introduced me to the taste of coffee.  When I was maybe 4 years old, she first took me to a small-town bakery where we sat in a booth across from each other.  The bakery served coffee and soft pastries from their display case.  Gramma let me choose whatever I wanted, and then we'd share it.  Back then, coffee cream was brought to the table in tiny glasses.  Gramma poured the cream out of the little glass into her coffee cup, gave it a stir, and then she'd spoon coffee back into the tiny glass and pass it to me for little-girl sipping.  Migod, talk about feeling like a princess sitting across from the Queen Herself.

In 1996, I trollied to Italy with a girlfriend.  The first night of our stay in Rome, she and I went for a walk and stopped at an outdoor restaurant for coffee.  My naive eyes about fell on the ground when the waiter handed me a bill for $10.  Yup, $10 for one cup.  All I could think of was "thank God nobody from back home is here to see this."  Was it worth it?  Absolutely.  Memories like that are worth a King's ransom.

Life is sprinkled with these moments, these blessings, or presents without bows.  No matter how insignificant they may seem at the time, they leave heavy footprints on our hearts.  We never forget them, and we never tire of sharing them.  That's how we keep them alive and with us.

Rome in Our Home

Our last afternoon in Rome was a sunny one, and we girls split ways to shop.  I needed to whisper my secret Arrivederci to Roma, because I was seeing it for the last time.

It was a side-street jewelry shop where it found me.  The remembrance that begged to board the plane to America.  This exquisite set of gold mosaic espresso cups.

We don't have to cross the ocean to find our special moments.  They are everywhere that we are.  The trick is knowing them when we see them.  If we look at life with child-like anticipation, blessings will sprinkle down in places we least expect them.  Even in our own kitchens as we open a new can of coffee.

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PHOTO OF THE DAY
The Unseen Wind