Morning Ritual

The following is a contribution to The Inspired Room's Beautiful Life series.

One of my solitary pleasures occurs in the morning - most often in the very early hours of the morning. Before my day begins in earnest, I sit at the computer, check out a few blogs, research something that I may be thinking of writing about, or check my email. It's always dark when I begin. If I'm left undisturbed, I can be found still sitting there an hour later as daylight comes creeping around the edges of the blinds, but before I even glance at the computer, I do something else first.

It's a quiet time for me. Everyone else is sleeping because of my early morning habit. I pad my way through the living room to the kitchen, start the coffee, and return to the computer. As the minutes tick by, the aroma slowly makes its way down the hall and finds me. Is there a richer or more comforting aroma anywhere than coffee as it brews? I think that's why I originally started drinking it - just to hold that warm cup in my hands, close my eyes, and breathe deeply. Notice I didn't mention the added benefit of the caffeine injection - a definite plus.

I found my favorite coffee mug at a wonderful thrift shop that's only a few miles from my house. I can not tell you how many hours of entertainment I've derived from walking the isles of this quirky, little shop. I love the idea of recycling the castoffs of someone I've never met. Not sure what that's all about, but finding a treasure among the rubble is fun.

That's where I found my favorite mug. It was sitting there among the all too predictable debris. Scrawled on the bottom was .55 cents, a price with which even the most exacting miser could not argue. I claimed it and took it home.

It isn't fancy, but it meets all of my peculiar requirements for the perfect mug. It's large enough for a bowl of steaming beef stew, and holds plenty of coffee when it's only two thirds full so it doesn't threaten to spill as I walk through the house. The handle is generous enough to allow for a comfortable grip. And it's beautiful. It's creamy, biscuit color is adorned only by an intricate frieze of leaves and berries which encircles the top. I enjoy drinking from it.

It's such a pleasurable ritual, drinking coffee, shared by most of us every morning. I kind of like the idea of that. No matter how threatening the world becomes, no matter what the news may tell us happened while we slept, the continuity of our coffee ritual is reassuring.

So whether it's a Snoopy mug, a Starbucks cup, a thrift shop find, or fine china, that first cup of coffee - before the outside world comes rushing in - is a moment to savor!