Day 15: The Under-Caffeination of Erica

My coffee addiction started at an early age. As a freshmen in high school, I transferred from my local public school system to a small private school in Seattle. Private schools have many things, but transportation isn’t one of them. Until I met people and joined a carpool, my dad drove me to school everyday (I believe that is a blog unto itself!). We stopped by QFC and got coffee at Venetos every morning. And when I say we “stopped” I mean we drove the other direction to go get coffee. I loved (LOVED) the coffee granita. Sometimes I also got a sprinkle donut and stuck it right on top of the coffee lid with the straw sticking up through the donut hole. And thusly, I survived high school, and became addicted to cold, blended coffee drinks. When Venetos closed, and Starbucks moved in, I was…(there’s no other way to say this)….pissed. 

I slowly morphed to Starbucks and became a frappuccino drinker. In college, I drank campus coffee (eek!) my first year, and drove my car off campus the other three years to get Starbucks. I had a quick flirtation with iced coffee, and I’ll drink a cool lime refresher in a pinch, but it’s that cold frap (with peppermint!) that I crave. By the time I graduated college the coffee routine was more than caffeine. The actual ritual of getting coffee was part of my day. My first year of teaching I was running late one day and showed up without coffee. My principal informed that I should never, EVER, come without coffee again. Be late if you have to, but come caffeinated! Heard.

One of my favorite teaching stints was teaching a 4/5, about five years into my teaching career. I had taught 4th grade the previous year, and had rolled up with a portion of my students. Starting the year with 1/2 of your students knowing you and your classroom routines is magical.  One day, early in September, one of the fourth graders asked a question.  I don’t remember what it was, but before I had turned around to address it, one of my 5th graders shut it down: Don’t ask her anything until she’s drunk at least 1/2 the coffee, below that green line. (Katie Luna if you remember that far back 💕). It’s not that I’m snappy, or mean, before the green line, but I’m super dull!! ;)

Last week I was thinking that maybe I was getting the virus.  I’m allergic to EVERYTHING; it’s spring, I’m remodeling, I own cats…. So sneezing: check! But there was also this extreme lethargy. I napped. I obsessed about having a temperature. I told myself that I was emotionally drained and allowed the napping and the sleeping in, even though I wasn’t doing a darn thing.  But then my mom brought me coffee from Divine on her way back from work, and honestly the heavens split right in half. CAFFEINE! Apparently apple juice was just not cutting it. ;)

So I have loaded up on coconut milk, peppermint syrup, and a wing and prayer and will be hopefully creating a drinkable concoction in the near future. It will definitely not be the same as all those friendly Starbucks baristas greeting me by name every morning, but this too shall pass. 

💜💜