The Power of Coffee

I’ve been sick. It’s one of those nasty spring viruses that you catch just when you think you’ve made it through the winter. So I’ve spent some time on the couch, sneezing, feverish, etc. But I have made an observation. My family needs me. Here’s why.

1. Someone will cook dinner. Which is wonderful. That someone, however, does not care about vegetables. I make sure we have veggies.

2. Someone will fold the laundry. But they will not fold socks. Socks are viewed with great suspicion and remain in a pile on the bottom of the laundry basket. I suspect that the socks would eventually get folded, but not until everyone ran out of them. I always fold socks. And I know which socks belong to whom.

3. No one waters the plants. Okay, that might be because I have exotic plants with special needs—my laundry room has labeled water jugs, fertilizers, stakes, etc. But still, without me the plants would die and then my family wouldn’t get to enjoy the orchids, African violets, and tropical pitcher plant.

4. No one will throw out the junk mail. It simply gets moved from one place to another and grows. I throw it out as soon as it comes in the front door.

5. No one can do the morning coffee like I can. Everyone knows how to make it. But only I can get the portions just right. And only I can pour. Seriously. Only I can make the coffee come out evenly into six cups. There is nothing more critical first thing in the morning than making sure everyone gets their fair share of coffee. On Monday, one of the minions did not pour the coffee correctly. Great gnashing of teeth followed. Even encouragements to “just make another pot” do not adequately deal with the fact that the coffee wasn’t poured right. And we all know, if the morning coffee ain’t right, ain’t nothing gonna go right today.

Photo Julius Schorzman courtesy of Wikimedia Commons