Coffee and Chocolate, in bed

At this time I will admit that I have two fetishes. As you might guess from the title of this post, it is coffee and chocolate, in bed.

Morning coffee in bed is the best thing that can happen to me. My ex-husband never got the hang of it, maybe he didn't care, but if he did, we would have still been married. His loss! It is truly a divine feeling for me to wake up to the aroma of a steaming cup of coffee on the night stand. Mornings are very special for me, I typically wake up very early, and if I don't have anything to do or a major meeting to rush to, I lie in bed enjoying the quietness and the softness of dawn, experiencing the night melting into the embrace of the first rays of the sun. A new day is to start, new promise. With the slight chill in the air, the touch of the covers on my skin feels comforting. I usually lie in a trance of half-dreamy-half-awake state for a while, just soaking in the pleasure. And with that, if there is the aroma of freshly brewed coffee, I am in heaven. 

Being single in this regard is difficult, it takes the fun out of lazing in bed. To make a good cup, you have to actually get up and go fix yourself one, which is quite an effort and beats the purpose of the whole experience. Few years back an old friend was visiting me from Australia, and during our many conversations I happened to mention in the offing this peculiar craving of mine, and on her last day with me, she did just that - got me a cup of coffee in bed. I cried. I was so touched. She was amazed how little it took to make me so emotional and happy. Now I have most of my friends "trained", when they stay with me or when I am visiting them, they usually get me a cup in bed. For example, couple months back, I was visiting a new friend in Los Angeles, I slept in a makeshift bed on the floor in her converted garage, it was a very different setting than my own bed. And she surprised me a cup of hot coffee as I was stretching and just waking up; I was tearful again. Later she told me, she was checking on me every few minutes as to when I would start to stir, and as soon as I did, she made me a cup. She does not drink coffee as such, but had gone all the way to buy coffee because I was visiting and made it for me. I feel so blessed to be loved this way!

Coffee and Chocolate

In 2008, we were touring Tasmania. One day driving up the east coast we found ourselves taking a windy road up the hill at Swansea and visiting Kate's Berry farm. As luck would have it, Kate was there. We enjoyed the delicious offerings she had and, true to my inquisitive nature, I struck a conversation with Kate. Her story was fascinating, how she fell in love with Tassie the moment she had landed in Lonnie decades back, that she felt like kissing the tarmac after landing, and  how it took her a while to wrap up her flourishing business and life on the mainland and move to Tassie for good. Little did I know then that Tassie would have the same effect on me, and now, years later, all I dream of is retiring in Tassie. Whether I can afford to do so, who knows? At that time Kate was doing berries very well and she was putting Tassie on the world map for top quality berries, she was often invited as key-note speaker at conferences. And she how also encouraged local housewives and farmers to grow the top quality berries with love and care. I was amazed by her effort and success, and very inspired. I asked her, what's next? She exclaimed, Chocolates! She said that she's been doing active market research. She has been sitting at high end chocolate shops for months on end and profiling the clientele. She noticed that the people who regularly buy chocolates, the high end decadent ones, are single women in their late thirties to early forties. That is the ideal demographic, one with the money to spare and the taste for good chocolates. At that time, I listened in awed silence and filed away the information. I was in my early thirties then, and chocolates were a nice-to-have but definitely not a priority nor special pleasure. I couldn't imagine buying a box of chocolates for regular self-use, I typically bought them as gifts. (By the way, Kate does offer handmade decadent chocolates in her shop now.) So last night, as I selected my little piece of heaven from the box of twenty, I suddenly realized I have become Kate's ideal clientele, I fit the profile!

I keep a box of special chocolates at home. And when I go to bed each night, I carefully select one special piece, like a ritual, and savor it in bed while reading my latest book to sleep. These days my friends are also aware of this special ceremony of mine, and I get boxes of chocolates as gifts. One friend/brother of mine travels to foreign lands often, and without fail he gets me a box of dark delights every time. Yes, I am blessed!

As I grow older I am starting to realize the importance of these small pleasures and how to be mindful and make space for them in my life. Coffee can be had on the go and by the gallon from the drive-thru, and sometimes schedule demands that; but to make it a small mindful ritual heightens the pleasure multiple times. To pause and savor a sip of coffee, experiencing the warmth flowing down the throat, the aroma almost makes you heady, the soft light of dawn with its cool quietness makes it magical. It is like I am unwrapping the day, a carefully packed gift with a pretty ribbon bow. The morning coffee is like gently tugging the ribbon as it unravels the beautiful gift. Same way, as I get into bed to rest, after a day tired from running pillar to post, full of anxiety and busy-ness, having a little piece of chocolate, and you don't know what you will get, is not only a special treat to self for a day well labored and finished, it is also a reminder of the unknowns in life and a sweet way to make peace with them. Life is good, just as it is!