The Great Re-Caffeination

For the first time in 30 days, I have experienced the "sunrise in my bloodstream". That's right, my Coffee Abstinence is finally over.



Being a rather warm, if overcast, Sunday morning, I decided to take my daughter for a little walk around the neighborhood after breakfast. We put on our sneakers and Spring jackets and set off, hand in hand, to do a little exploring. If you haven't taken a walk with a 4-year old, I highly recommend it. It's surprising what their little eyes see and what their little minds make of it all... Something as simple as a robin hopping around on the neighbor's lawn becomes a significant event.



I decided that the first stop on our little tour would be the corner convenience store. I knew before I even went inside that today would be my big day. So, I led my little girl to the Candy Aisle first, to let her pick out a little treat. The expression "like a kid in a candy shoppe" still rings true today, as she seemed to take forever pondering over the wide range of powders, lollipops, and other assorted confections. With a little help, she eventually settled on a necklace of candy beads and a package of Bottlecaps (these having been a favorite of mine in years gone by).



Then, it was off to the Coffee Counter. Remember my "kid in a candy shoppe" comment? Well, it seems that it holds true for us "older kids" as well. Before me was displayed a variety of decanters offering everything from a "Breakfast Brew" to "Columbian", from "Irish Cream" to "Medium Dark Roast", all touted as "Seattle's Best". Well, if it's good enough for the birthplace of Starbuck's, how could I go wrong? I grabbed a nice big 20 oz. cup and filled it to the brim with "Columbian".



Upon leaving the store, it was back to our little trek, she happily consuming tiny, sugary bead after tiny, sugary bead, myself savoring every sip of my first coffee in a month.



By and by, we found ourselves at the neighborhood Elementary School. Even here, the support for the Calgary Flames was evident. The professionally printed signs in the front windows of homes around town and the Flaming C flags festooning many of the city's cars and trucks are one thing... To see the logo recreated by a bunch of Kindergarten children, though, is truly inspiring!



After playing at the park for a little while, climbing on monkey bars and seeing how high we can jump from, we headed back home, just in time for a little bit of lunch. All in all, it was a great morning.



Oh... How was the coffee, you're wondering? First of all, it tasted fantastic! And it only seemed to get better with each sip... As for the effect it had on me? Well, it wasn't the great caffeine rush that I was expecting after such a long drought, but it did put a little spring in my step... And I can't remember the last time a blog post flew off my fingers so quickly!



Here's to coffee!