Coffee cures....coffee nourishes .....coffee heals.....I can't remember exactly when I started drinking coffee on regular basis, maybe in London, that was less than 3 years ago, and now coffee has become an integral part of my day. After my morning routine of dropping off the kids to school and jogging, I look forward to to a nice hot mug of coffee. I love my coffee in all seasons though having coffee in the winter when it is freezing outside has its own special feel as you sit down on your favourite chair, both your hands holding or is it hugging the mug, letting the steam reach your face defrosting your nose and fingers and then taking your first sip of the hot liquid. Feels just right!
I hate to admit but I have also become a bit fanciful about the way I like to have my coffee. Like only in a particular shaped cup, the kind that looks like an almost 'V' is my favourite, the colour or pattern on the mug....I love pastel shades with floral prints. I also prefer my coffee frothed and I have recently bought this very basic milk frother from Ikea on the recommendation of a friend which does a perfect job...no spillage,minimum wash up. To top up I love the flavour of ground cinnamon powder so I specially pulverized some cinnamon sticks at home for this purpose. One thing I have promised myself is a new coffee maker as soon as I can manage some additional kitchen top space.
Every morning as I sit with my mug for just a few minutes, I ponder over my day's activities, make to-do notes and then charge out purposefully. Quite often than not I try and meet a mum friend for coffee. In fact it's the best way to strike up a conversation with a new acquaintance. Having changed my location thrice I realise the importance of making new friends and making them quickly to avoid sudden bouts of loneliness and depression. So my standard modus operandi is to do a quick check while at school on mums who might look like potential friends and invite them for a cup. Feedback from the boys on their new friends helps quite a bit, as you don't really want to become friends with a mum whose child has been mean to yours! So, it starts with a coffee date either single or multiple mums meeting together and then depending on the interest level could lead to another coffee date or could also evolve into a playdate! Although this may sound quite calculated, I have made some very good friends this way in London and out here. In London I was part of this lovely 'desi' (Indian) gang and we took turns in hosting coffee mornings at our place. We would chat, play games, eat snacks and of course finish with tea or coffee. In HK most mums prefer meeting at a Starbucks...I guess I still have to work my way to getting invited at home! Either way I enjoy the camaraderie - the very polite conversation at first....getting to know each other, which home countries, how long since you've been here, husband works for....kind of questions......till you get more comfortable and the talk gets a wee bit louder as you share jokes, the common conversation about kids, their classes, their teachers.....we get friendlier....even louder accompanied with guffaws sometimes and the talk is about maids, their bad habits, husbands again and their bad habits, about children fighting with their siblings and finally when you get really cozy with each other, in quiet hushed tones gossip about "other" mums and their husbands and their maids........ All this over just one mug of coffee!