I’ll admit it: I’m an obsessive person. Everything I do, I go overboard. I talk too much, I eat too much, I think too much.  If I like something, I like it too much sometimes.

Coffee is one of my obsessions. With Valentine’s Day being this week, I must admit that coffee is a great love in my life.

When I was student teaching in 1989, I began drinking coffee. I was a skinny, baby-faced kid and I wanted to be taken seriously. So, drinking coffee made me feel older and maybe look older, too. I drank it, even though I really didn’t like it much back then.

By the time I got a teaching job, coffee had become something that tasted good and something I really liked. I went to the kitchen every morning to get a cup and eventually got a pot in my classroom. My students liked the smell of coffee brewing in the morning. So did I.

When I had my gall bladder removed a few years back, the first thing I thought of ingesting was coffee. The doctors wouldn’t let me have cream or sugar, and that first meal was a little orange Jello, some juice, and black coffee. Still, it tasted pretty good and I was glad to have my old friend back after the operation.

I’m not sure I ever learned to make really good coffee myself, but Michelle has mastered it and she also found the greatest brand of coffee. She has only recently hopped on board the coffee express, more out of necessity and survival than taste, I think. Being a busy mom with four kids and a self-centered husband to take care of, she needs that extra boost in the morning.

I know the love of coffee has become an obsession because it dominates my thoughts. It’s the first thing I think of when I wake up in the morning.  Recently, when school was called off due to an approaching ice storm, all I could think about was how much coffee we had in the kitchen. When I am running late for work, I would risk being even later to make sure I had coffee. When I don’t have it, my morning is sad and desolate.

Coffee is true comfort food, even though it’s a beverage.  When you pour that steaming cup, stir in a little sweet, you hold in your hands a bit of gold.  Sitting, even for a few minutes, and sipping it is a motivator, a respite, and a moment of wonderfulness.

I have probably made some great decisions after drinking a cup of coffee. I am able to work harder, longer, and more efficiently after drinking coffee.  Having a cup of coffee in the afternoon or early evening makes things better. Even a cup of decaf in the evening with a bit of dessert is a recipe for a fascinating evening. I think it makes sleep more blissful.

I’ve thought about whittling down my java intake. I’m wondering if I could get by on a regular sized cup every morning, as opposed to the huge travel mug I nurse all morning.  I’m still planning to try it. It’s something I’m not really excited about and I have very slim hopes for success.

There are plenty of great quotes about coffee: “I didn’t know how awesome I was going to be today until I had my coffee.”

“I like coffee more than most people.”

“Any friend of coffee is a friend of mine.”

However, probably my all time favorite coffee quote is: “Water is one of the most essential things in life… for without water, there would be no coffee.”

So true.