Caffeine is Caffeine is Caffeine: Blogging Around with Rommy Week 11

Small sprouts have a lot
to teach stiffened trees about
bending in the rain
and loving the way
water collects on new leaves
to refract the sunlight after a storm.

This poem is linked to Imaginary Gardens with Real Toad's Tuesday Platform and Poets United 445.




The Liner Notes for this Groove:

It all started with a burst of caffeine. I know I asked my mother-law-for decaf. She swears she got me decaf. But about 16 years ago I knew a few things after I finished that coffee. A.) That was probably not decaf and B.) the expected jitters from said cup of coffee felt a lot more intense around my abdominal region, so even though it was a couple of weeks early I was fairly sure labor had started.

By dawn the next morning I was looking at my new-born kiddo, Rose. I suppose given her entrance into this world it shouldn’t surprise me that she’s become something of a caffeine enthusiast. So is she a coffee drinker like her dad or a tea drinker like her mom? I think Rose would most likely relate to the quote by Abraham Lincoln, “If this is coffee, please bring me tea; but if this is tea please bring me some coffee.” She cheerfully partakes of either as the whim takes her (she had one of each on the last day of being fifteen) because she sees no reason to place limits on enjoying things that make her happy.

As she’s making the transition from kid to very interesting young lady, she is vocal about expressing who she is, from her vivid and unabashedly geek chic clothes to her retro taste in music (on vinyl, if you please). And her joy is infectious. I wish I had felt confident enough to release my inner geek to run free in a frenzy of pixie-stix fueled glory. But seeing her happily embracing her quirkiness is the next best thing. Being her mom has taught me a lot about the magic that can happen when you are fully and authentically yourself, both as a writer and as a person.



I got a small print of this painting, AmanitaTea
when I ordered a larger one from Art by Lady Viktoria, 
and something about it just struck me as so Rose-like, I had to use it here.

So dear Groovers, what’s your preferred method of caffeine delivery? Or do you want to talk about a time when being authentically yourself made things interesting? Make your thoughts known about these questions or just catch me up on your week in the comments section. As always, you can drop a link to your cyber home if you want to elaborate on any comments you’ve left here.

Song Choice: The theme song from one of our favorite shows to watch together, One Day at a Time

46 comments:

  1. I adore this poem... Yes, indeed.. we can all learn from the fresh new shoot, about being green and welcoming the rain.

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  2. This warmed my heart so much, dearest Rommy!❤️ Rose sounds like a wonderful young lady and gosh I just might fly all the way down there to see her after this post!

    I am a coffee drinker but sometimes like to have tea as well!❤️

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    1. She'd probably love that! She likes hearing about the friends I have on line.

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  3. Tea- as many times a day as possible. No teabags- brewed on the stove top with milk and sugar!!!

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    1. Ooh yes! Some teas just taste better prepared that way.

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  4. I enjoy both tea and coffee. Guess I'm bi!

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    1. Don't tell anyone, but while I am typically a tea drinker, if the time is right and that coffee is looking inviting, I have been known to succumb to its charms.

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  5. Excellent poem. I did not read all the other stuff, just the poem. I like the water collecting on leaves.

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  6. Yes, yes, tea with milk and cardamom (at times with ginger and a whole range of spices) brewed on the stove top is the best thing in the world. I really can not function without Chai! I really enjoyed your take on what it means to be authentic while embracing all the quirkiness in a delightful display of one's personality.
    Also, that poem is such a gem — those small sprouts have a wonderful lesson to teach to all of us. :-)

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    1. Authentic chai is just amazing! I love it especially on chilly winter days (or days when sure, the calender says it's spring, but no one thought to inform the sun).

      Thanks for the kind words :)

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  7. I love this poem, Rommy, especially:
    'water collects on new leaves
    to refract the sunlight after a storm'.

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  8. Oh, I love watching green sprout. I am a stiffened tree eager to learn how to bend again. Oh, and yes my Twila series will one day become a book.

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    1. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaassssssssssssssssssss!!!!! Keep me posted. :)

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  9. water collects on new leaves
    to refract the sunlight after a storm.

    Nature certainly has a way to make everything work and all with its own ways. Very true Rommy!

    Hank

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  10. I love the poem starts by reminding us to value flexibility and the daring that comes with youth. And the ending? I couldn't agree more, wonderful things can come out of what at first might feel like a horror.

    I'm smiling as I imagine the look on your face as you realized that the coffee probably wasn't decaf and that the wild gild was on her way. I bet she got a whiff of that coffee and couldn't resist the urge of joining the world that brewed it. She is a precious one, your Rose. And I suspect that she is barely starting to teach stiff trees how life is done.

    Here is my bit for this week: https://magalysblog.blogspot.com/2019/03/some-battles-arent-worth-energy-they.html

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    1. LOL, I think that was a defining moment, getting her first hit of caffeine directly in her blood stream. :D I am delighted I get to learn from her.

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  11. I like them both but drink more coffee most of the time. I am a starbucks addict to venti white mocha's.
    Your daughter sounds so cool and you described her so joyful. Love that artwork!

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    1. She's a very cool kid, though today she's a little short of joy on account of having a head cold.

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  12. Rommy your brief and emphatic poem, together with your articulate post made me stop and ponder your question about authenticity.

    I admire your young lady Rose for embracing her quirkiness. She sounds like a real fun (and smart) kid with her vivid and and unabashedly geek style and taste. I don’t doubt that as a mother and a writer, you haven’t learned and continue to learn, a lot from her strength of being authentic.

    And to answer your question, unfortunately in my case authenticity nearly denied me what I love most because I didn’t know how to handle it. Anyway, here’s my link to read more about what I mean:
    https://www.khayaronkainen.fi/in-solitude-i-breathe/

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    1. Yeah, I am embarrassed to admit that I've crossed over the line of being authentic to being an ass sometimes. And it's bugged me when I realized that "going there" really didn't solve any issues I supposed was interested in resolving.

      LOL, my daughter is better at identifying that sort of thing than I am, so I look to her for that too.

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    1. I especially like the small sprouts bending in the rain.

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    2. I'm so glad you enjoyed it.

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  14. My caffeine has to be delivered strong and quick... as an espresso so thick it's almost solid with just a splash of hot milk to sooth its bitterness (and never with sugar)

    The way a sapling bends for the wind while the tree will break is something that I think has been used to describe the strength of a geisha (the willow way)

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    1. That sounds intense! And oddly intriguing :D

      I love that bit about the willow way.

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  15. Yes indeed, we can learn a lot from our children. For me an old tree, its my (Yanda) daughter's discipline and quiet drive. She gets the job done. And as for my (Khama) son, his critical near annoying eye. Keeness like that of a hawk

    You Rose sounds like a bountiful blessing

    Thanks for dropping by my sumie Sunday today Rommy

    Much🏵love

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    1. It sounds like you have wonderful blessings of your own. :) Glad you stopped by.

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  16. Love the poem - which, sets up the narrative - a wonderful little slice of life - so beautifully. I thought the way in which you wove some of your daughter's qualities into the narrative (thus pinning it so splendidly to the poem) was really well done. Though your posts are often, deliciously chock-a-block full, they are so well organized and constructed they have an organic flow that is very authentic and a pleasure to read.

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    1. Aw! Thank you for the very high compliment Wendy. :)

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  17. Beautifully written. (In my opinion : )
    ZQ

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  18. I love the lessons we can learn from 'young sprouts.'
    Your poem sent me to thinking about my daughter, my grandkids. You treated me to some moments with smiles.

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  19. When my kids were growing up I loved exploring the woods and streams taking the dog with us to do all we could. I was able to be an adventurous boy again and they learned all about exploring even crawling through rainwater drains under rail tracks! This was well before iPhones and iPads!

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    1. That sounds terrific! I loved going rambling with my kids in the local woods too.

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  20. Adore your poem, loved learning about Rose, and I like my coffee black and strong and first thing in the morning. (Tea? – never touch the stuff! Well, the occasional herbal.)

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    1. Herbal is mostly occassional for me too, usually in the evening when I don't want to stay up too late.

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  21. This is so wonderful, hi Rose and I love the art piece as well!
    Me, I'm a tea drinker 100%. The only way I will drink coffee, is when it's a dessert, with sugar and whipping cream! LOL! Big Hugs!

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