Coffee Moments

I grew up loving the aroma of freshly-brewed coffee in the morning.  My dad loves coffee.   He would normally start his day with a cup (or sometimes 2), reading the day’s newspaper, taking his time to just sit back and enjoy a quiet moment.  Whenever I would see my dad in his “coffee moment”, I knew this is always the best time to sit down with him and enjoy precious moments to talk.  I cherish these moments with my dad.  This is how I actually first learned to value and savor the taste of life’s “coffee moments”.  

A coffee moment is not about the “coffee”, rather it is those precious moments - whether alone or shared with someone else - that bring comfort, warmth, cherished memories, intimate conversations; or perhaps, a time to reflect and simply just to have a break. 

Through the years, I discovered and experienced more of these “moments”.  These are moments when amidst our fast-faced, sometimes stressful and challenging lifestyles, there will always be reasons to simply “feel-good” about life.     

 Metaphorically-speaking, a coffee moment can mean a lot of things. Offering someone a cup of coffee often symbolizes a warm welcome or a “cup of comfort”.  Coffee in the morning gives us a few minutes of quiet, relaxed time before heading off to a full day’s work.  A coffee break from work gives us that much needed time to unwind and be recharged.  If we want to spend a time with someone for a nice, intimate chat, we often say, “let’s have coffee”.  Ambiance in a coffee shop never fails to offer a quiet spot for a refreshing “me-time”.   

My life as woman is a multifaceted one.  I am a wife and mother.  I have a fulltime job.  I write as a passion.  I am a missionary serving thru my catholic community.  On top of this, I am also a daughter, a sister and a friend.  And as a woman, I also need time to simply be “me”.

Focusing too much on the things I need to fulfill, tasks I need to accomplish, balancing my time with people I need to spend quality moments with, is often too much to handle. But what I realized is that for every role in my life, I should create opportunities to savor life’s bittersweet moments…

Spending a few minutes of quiet moments to pray as I start each day is always the perfect way for me to look forward to a brand new day. 

The opportunity to go on mission in different parts of the world never fails to warm my heart through the new people I meet and being inspired by their life experiences. 

Working, doing the things I love, being able to accomplish something and sharing my achievements to my loved ones is always a wonderful moment.  Writing opens up a whole new world me… that for every word, every thought I am able to share is enough to give me a sense of fulfillment as a woman. 

Time shared with my family, friends and loved ones are definitely moments to live for.  Bonding with my mom, chatting with my dad … priceless!  Each moment I spend with my son, appreciating the world through the innocent eyes of a 4-year old are my cherished “mommy” moments.  Being with my husband, finding time together amidst our busy schedules, facing the joys and challenges of married life, falling in love all over again are definitely perfect moments.

Enjoying “me-time” is one moment I often neglect or tend to sacrifice.  But I personally believe that this is one of the most important coffee moment.  I need moments to be on my own, to reflect, be refreshed and pampered.  I need my personal coffee moment to get me going in life.  It is the best time for me to be myself, appreciate the woman that I am and the person that I can become. 

In times I would get frustrated, worried and stressed, I simply look back at my coffee moments and be affirmed once again of the blessings in my life.  My coffee moments are enough to give me reasons to wake up each day believing that I have greater things to look forward to in life.   

With today’s fast-paced lifestyle, pressures in the workplace, challenges of our day to day lives, and multiple roles to fulfill we all need a moment to “feel good”.  Sometimes, we just need to loosen up a bit and enjoy the lighter, but more meaningful side of life. 

So if you feel like you’ve had too much in life… sit back, relax, take a break and savor the right blend and fresh aroma of your very own coffee moment.