If Coffee be the Drink of Love...

Whoever discovered coffee should be canonized, at least in my book. I've dubbed the coffee plant "the miracle plant", and I know there are millions of people the same way.  I even wrote a blog post dedicated to coffee.

That being said, coffee has a special place in my love life, and as this past Friday marked three years since I told my Knight that I would love to be his girlfriend, I thought it only fitting that I share the story of us and coffee.

It all started out one week back in June of 2011, at the Minnesota Regina-Con aka Fairy Tale Novels Fan Gathering.  I'd headed there with hopes and dreams... I knew beyond a doubt that liked my not yet Knight very much, and I was almost even certain that he would be the one for me.  Someday.  It was exciting, and nerve wracking, heading up there but once we both got there, it felt so natural, and it was so easy to be normal, and be friends like we had been for the past three years.  

We connected on so many levels on that trip... we accidentally sat next to each other for every meal (no really, that was not planned!), we planned a murder mystery together, we navigated ourselves and two other friends out of St. Paul at 1am, but one of the most memorable things that we connected over that week was coffee.

It was nearly one in the morning by the time we actually got out of St. Paul, and then it was nearly an hour drive back home.  We managed to stay awake (well, my Kinght and I did. The other two slept in the back seat.) by listening to the radio and praying the rosary.  Naturally, the next morning we were exhauuuuusssteedddd.  The family hosting the gathering were not coffee drinkers, but the had borrowed a coffee maker and purchased some coffee to accommodate those who were. No body else wanted coffee that morning (they all slept), but My Knight and I were wiped and ended up drinking a whole pot of coffee between us.  I can still remember the moment when a thought struck me and I looked at the can of grounds and whispered to him in horror "That was DECAF".

A few days later, we were in town (and by that I mean a town with three blocks, a gas station, and if you blink you'll miss it), at the town hall to enjoy a talent show and swing dance party.  Again, we were very tired, and again as coffee drinkers were in the minority somehow, there was no coffee.  As we sat at one of the tables, waiting for dinner to be ready, My Knight, Sister T and I bemoaned the lack of caffeinated beverages. Then someone, I don't recall who, had the brilliant idea of scouring the little town for coffee. There had to be something somewhere.  Thus began the great coffee adventures of 2011.

As it turned out, the only place in the little eight block town that had any kind of life, or coffee, was the gas station about half a mile away (3/4 of a mile if you count the quarter we walked in the opposite direction).  After wander about for a bit and not find anything, remembering the gas station and trying to recall where it was, then walking down the state highway to get to said gas station, we finally made it to there and the glorious coffee machine.  I'd love to tell you it was the best coffee we'd ever tasted, but I honestly don't recall and it was probably your typical gas station brew. Nevertheless, it helped keep us alert and gave us another memory to smile and cherish.

Since that memorable start, coffee has continued to be a fixture in our relationship. Long distance coffee dates are one way in which we stay connected despite the miles in between.  He's given me several coffee mugs as gifts, this past Christmas I gave him a mug with his name written in Elvish on it.  Going out for coffee is something we do every time we are together.  Beating him to the coffee maker so I can make him a cup of coffee in the morning is one of my favorite things to do on our visits.  Someday, when we have a home of our own, I'm sure the coffee maker will have a central and grand location in the midst of our hourly existence.  Or at least, you know, a nice spot on the kitchen counter.