Coffee- How it All Began
Every day at 2:00 PM I would run upstairs to the kitchen, grab a cup of Nescafe (I was still at the instant stage) and carefully run back downstairs to supervise my supposedly -afternoon- napping charges. The kids got used to the routine, so much that 3 Ã?½ year old Eden bestowed a nickname upon my daily cuppa, naming it “Kofeeko” after the most popular monkey on Israeli TV. I knew that from that day on, the TV show would always remind her of her preschool teacher’s afternoon coffee.
The mid day coffee slowly expanded to a refreshing morning caffe’-latte, instant due to lack of a percolator. What a great feeling it was, to grab a sip between dressing for the day and running a mirror check. Or even, most sinful of all, drinking a full mug before tooth-brushing time. Hey it’s better that way, keeps your breath nice and fresh without having to resort to mint drops after a cuppa!
Well, life was good and at times the original two cups of coffee made way for a third; some mornings I was brave enough to mix my own version of cappuccino, by beating the spoon long enough. Sounds pathetic? Not at all, these small things had the power of getting me through the day.
Months went by.
One day, in mid afternoon a long- gone headache creeped into my system, and that’s when I realized I was truly addicted, if only lightly still. My body rebels when it doesn’t get its daily due. No coffee? Fine, if that’s the way you want itâÂ?¦ but look out for one of those knockout headaches!
So I gladly supplied the body with Java, even more so when I moved to New York and found a coffee machine in my apartment, along with 12 boxes of ground coffee! Being the only caffeine addict on the block, I proceeded to liven up things by allowing the percolator to let out its tantalizing aromas each morning, calling me to fill yet another cup before leaving the house�
When I started my new office job, afternoon coffee seeped back into the routine. To this day, at 4:00 PM on the dot I feel the need for a cuppa, and the thirst is always quickly quenched although the office facilities call for instant Nescafe once again�
The big awareness jolt came one Friday night, a short time ago. I had gone without coffee all day, due to illness, and at 9:00 PM the revengeful headache started to act up. I went to sleep then and there, crushing the headache, as well as all problems I had with going to sleep before 11:00.
I woke 13 hours later, unable to get out of bed.
When I stood, my head pulled me back down, heavy with too much sleep and confused from lack of caffeine. I made my way into the kitchen to fix some instant. My hands eluded me, deciding to shake their way through the day. And so I spilled half a bottle of milk, then I spilled the coffee when I finally managed to make it.
The second try produced comical results: I poured cold milk into the mug instead of hot water, and the whole concoction went down the drain.
Finally, I managed to fix an almost decent cuppa. Grabbing a book, a cover and my most faithful pillow, I retired to the couch for the rest of the day. It felt awful, it felt like a bad hangover after a night of alcohol bingeing, and that does not feel good at all�
I spent the rest of the day contemplating my trembling fingers and chiding myself for having fallen into the addiction category, alternated by boosts of optimism such as “Hey, at least I didn’t get addicted to something really bad!”
The day after, I sipped my morning coffee (3 of them, actually) and my entire system shifted gears and started getting back to normal, part by part.
I had managed to give myself a big scare, but the event wasn’t traumatizing enough to kick me off the habitâÂ?¦all I can say is: I’m an addict and I know it, but I’m not about to change itâÂ?¦
Post Scriptum: The author currently drinks one Lavazzza Espresso daily.
