I was desperate this morning. Really desperate. After preparing a much anticipated cup of coffee I realized I was out of cream…and milk. No sweet dairy product to curb the bitterness of the hot beverage I craved. I rummaged through the cupboards, looking for a remnant of non-dairy creamer kept ‘just in case’. I found green tea, herbal tea, lemonade, four stray chocolate chips and an old packet of spiced cider mix, but not what I wanted. I couldn't drink that coffee black! Where was the sweetness I yearned for? What was I going to do?
Way in the back of the soup cupboard (the third cupboard I searched) was a can of Carnation sweetened condensed milk, and its possibilities intrigued me. I looked at the ingredients. Milk. Sugar. It sounded perfect. I popped open the top, ready to give it a try, only to see a thick yellow substance ooze from the lid. It was more the consistency of motor oil than something I would put in my stomach. Ew. No thanks. That option literally went down the drain. I racked my brain for other ideas. Would yogurt work, I thought, opening the fridge? No matter. I didn’t have any anyway. Aha! Ice cream! Of course! I opened the freezer to find a perfectly fresh, cold, real dairy option of Moose Tracks ice cream, just waiting for me. Did I dare? Scooping out a couple of dollops and placing them in my mug of steaming java, I wondered if this would ‘work’. When I stirred and tasted, I realized that all the trouble was worth every bit. It was absolutely delicious!
Isn’t life sort of like this coffee episode? When our plans are upset by unexpected circumstances, and change, we momentarily panic, even though most events are not truly life-threatening. Having to wait in the grocery line, having to take a different route when road work makes a detour necessary, and being out of cream for our coffee, have the potential to throw us off, make us irritable, and put us into a ‘funk’. Yet these small challenges are merely opportunities to ‘think outside the box’ and discover something new. They say ‘necessity is the mother of invention’, but it is also the mother of a new perspective, and sometimes a new opportunity.
Having to wait in line for groceries gives me a chance to chat with that elderly woman behind me, who may just be craving some conversation, or smile at the bagger-girl who looks frazzled, come to think of it, or catch my breath and actually read the flier about the fundraiser for the little boy with leukemia, which is posted near the check out stand, but which I never noticed before. The detour on the road may be longer, but I notice it’s more scenic, and it takes me past a new store that looks like a place I might want to visit. And the coffee creamer that is not? Well, I discovered that a little ice cream can make a hot cup of coffee taste great.
Yet another beautiful essay, T! Your peace is always such an inspiration...thanks for sharing.
God Bless!
Posted by: Tracy | October 25, 2006 at 12:02 PM