I stopped drinking coffee a few days ago.

I just woke up one morning and for the first time in years… I mean since I was a teenager…I just didn’t want a cup.

I have no real reason except that I always listen to my body. Not too long ago it was eggs. I think it’s part of getting older, but whatever it is, this little “body listening” has me in a whirlwind.

Clearly, I’m addicted to coffee. Now, I only drank it before 6am and only two cups.  I never bought coffee at a coffee shop – unless I was traveling and even then, I’d always just ask for a “large coffee” which would somehow confuse the people behind the counter. And incite someone in line to chime in of what I “meant” to say… oy. Coffee, really is a thing.

But my enjoyment of coffee was just a solitude thing while writing in my journal. There was a ritual to it all, hearing the light drip and eventually smelling that lovely aroma… there’s something perfect about that moment. Then, I’d sit in my favorite chair and writing in my journal…all while that cup of brew sat readily next to me – the perfect sip would ignite some amazing jolt of writing…  

Honestly, I don’t know why I’m not interested in coffee anymore.  As I think about it right now, I feel a bit nauseous at the idea of drinking it so…. we’re on day three of no coffee in the early morning. Weird. I’m also not substituting anything at all. Just drinking a glass of water…. 

How am I feeling? Okay, I guess.  Headaches seem to happen later in the day, but nothing I can’t manage. I do love the morning in a different way though – I mean, NOT having to make coffee and have the ritual of waiting for it and then sipping it, is a new kind of enjoyable I’m not sure how to describe just yet. I feel released, maybe free even, from a schedule I didn’t even know I had locked myself into. Nothing happened before I had that coffee in hand. 

I don’t know. I’m not against drinking coffee again, I’m just going with how I feel right now. The withdrawal symptoms will probably persist for a while longer, but I’m pretty determined to get through this too. Not because I’ll never drink it again, but because… I just like changing things up a bit.  And so far, a life without coffee in the early morning, is quite surprisingly joyful.

Happy sweet day.

Carmen