Coffee in my cup
A single mother raising two children and working two jobs needed all of the energy she could get. Through the day a soda could add an artificial caffeine boost. But the day started a lot earlier.
After working the graveyard shift at the hospital, there was enough time to make it home to see her children awake to a new day. While they bathed and dressed the coffee was brewed to provide the last erg of energy necessary to complete her duties as a parent. The smell of the cheap store brand coffee percolating through the house with one meaning for all present: Home. This one morning constant meant security and all that was good.
Growing up, a time came when I was finally able to taste that magic elixir. As I lifted the mug the steam caressed my face. The glorious smell grab hold of my senses. The hot brew touched my lips. By all that was mighty, it was the foulest thing I had ever tasted. True, it smelled good, but UGH! Away from coffee I turned.
There is the stereotype that teenagers stay up late and get up slow. Not I. Oh yes, I stayed up, but you wouldn’t find me sleeping in. My eyes would spring open on their own accord, and I would wake. There was no gentle caress of morning greeting me. One moment I would be asleep. Then next I would be fully awake without any trace of sleep in my eyes. The need for caffeine never existed as far as I was concern.
High school came and college went without any desire for coffee. Law school arrived with grueling late night study sessions, and coffee was not there. Marriage and the life of a DC beltway attorney were mine and coffee entered my life. My wife drank the magical elixir that smelled so heavenly, yet tasted so foul.
The beltway was followed by the Army, a tour of the military installations around the globe. The US Army is fueled by coffee, but I was able to resist. Ft Jackson, SC to Ft Huachuca, AZ. Ft Huachuca to Ft Jackson. Ft Jackson to Suwon Air Base, Republic of Korea. Korea to Ft Lee. Ft Lee to TJAGSA. And there it happened.
Even though I had not driven in almost a year, I rented a car and was going to take a slow drive up to Pennsylvania to see my pregnant wife. She had been put on bed rest due to complications from her pregnancy. Having gone to see a specialist at the Lehigh Valley Hospital, she had been admitted for “observations”. (By the way, great place to have a baby.) Here is a fact about my wife and I. She speaks and understands the English language wonderfully. I do not. I speak American. I can communicate exceptionally well, however I may not always be grammatically correct.
This is important because my wife repeated for me what the doctor had told her. Instead of hearing the proper words, I heard the meaning. Basically, the doctor’s words as said by my wife were able to communicate their meaning to me. What I understood was that my wife was in danger. Within three days she was going to have an emergency c-section. She might die.
I left at first light, 5:50am to be exact. On July 25th 2001, with an extra large cup of coffee in one hand, and a one-pound bag of Twizzlers in the other, I drove six hours straight to the hospital.
She almost died. Her liver and kidneys were shutting down. But, on the 27th of July my son was born. My wife started her road to full recovery. And coffee has been part of my life.
Do I mind drinking coffee now? Not at all, it helped get me to my wife. Because of that, my cup runs over.
After working the graveyard shift at the hospital, there was enough time to make it home to see her children awake to a new day. While they bathed and dressed the coffee was brewed to provide the last erg of energy necessary to complete her duties as a parent. The smell of the cheap store brand coffee percolating through the house with one meaning for all present: Home. This one morning constant meant security and all that was good.
Growing up, a time came when I was finally able to taste that magic elixir. As I lifted the mug the steam caressed my face. The glorious smell grab hold of my senses. The hot brew touched my lips. By all that was mighty, it was the foulest thing I had ever tasted. True, it smelled good, but UGH! Away from coffee I turned.
There is the stereotype that teenagers stay up late and get up slow. Not I. Oh yes, I stayed up, but you wouldn’t find me sleeping in. My eyes would spring open on their own accord, and I would wake. There was no gentle caress of morning greeting me. One moment I would be asleep. Then next I would be fully awake without any trace of sleep in my eyes. The need for caffeine never existed as far as I was concern.
High school came and college went without any desire for coffee. Law school arrived with grueling late night study sessions, and coffee was not there. Marriage and the life of a DC beltway attorney were mine and coffee entered my life. My wife drank the magical elixir that smelled so heavenly, yet tasted so foul.
The beltway was followed by the Army, a tour of the military installations around the globe. The US Army is fueled by coffee, but I was able to resist. Ft Jackson, SC to Ft Huachuca, AZ. Ft Huachuca to Ft Jackson. Ft Jackson to Suwon Air Base, Republic of Korea. Korea to Ft Lee. Ft Lee to TJAGSA. And there it happened.
Even though I had not driven in almost a year, I rented a car and was going to take a slow drive up to Pennsylvania to see my pregnant wife. She had been put on bed rest due to complications from her pregnancy. Having gone to see a specialist at the Lehigh Valley Hospital, she had been admitted for “observations”. (By the way, great place to have a baby.) Here is a fact about my wife and I. She speaks and understands the English language wonderfully. I do not. I speak American. I can communicate exceptionally well, however I may not always be grammatically correct.
This is important because my wife repeated for me what the doctor had told her. Instead of hearing the proper words, I heard the meaning. Basically, the doctor’s words as said by my wife were able to communicate their meaning to me. What I understood was that my wife was in danger. Within three days she was going to have an emergency c-section. She might die.
I left at first light, 5:50am to be exact. On July 25th 2001, with an extra large cup of coffee in one hand, and a one-pound bag of Twizzlers in the other, I drove six hours straight to the hospital.
She almost died. Her liver and kidneys were shutting down. But, on the 27th of July my son was born. My wife started her road to full recovery. And coffee has been part of my life.
Do I mind drinking coffee now? Not at all, it helped get me to my wife. Because of that, my cup runs over.
posted by Zanla | 9:01 PM
3 Comments:
You know, I remember she had complications but reading this now I guess I didn't know it was as bad as it was. Or when I found out about it she was on her way to getting better ... so it didn't even occur to me that it was a life or death situation.
Reading about that time now - it shocks me - yet I don't even choose to think it was as bad as it was because I can imagine this world without her.
She doesn't believe that it was as bad as I do. Of course, she was heavily medicated and I wasn't. It was suppose to take 10-20 minutes of post-op to close her up. It took 1 1/2 hours. Everyone is much better now though. At least it will NEVER happen again, and we have our two wonderful people.
1. Medication is good
2. Denial is healthy
3. The boy was worth it
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