Cup O’ Sludge?

I woke up this morning wishing it were Saturday so I could sleep until noon. No such luck as it’s only Wednesday. I’m so sleepy I’m doing that head bobbing thing and I’m struggling to keep my eyes open, but they keep threatening to slide shut on me. The only thing saving me is knowing how much it would hurt if I gave in to sleep causing my head to smack onto the desk. Plus, I’d wake up with a keyboard imprint on my forehead and that’s really not a good look.

See, Vince just started a new job today and had to be up way early. Before dawn’s early light even. I think he got up just about the time I used to go to bed in my former night-owl life, or at least it seems that way. And neither of us slept very well last night.

I can’t even imagine how sleepy Vince is, but he’s probably focusing on the task at hand and will deal with it later. Probably with a nice long nap in his recliner, but that’s just a guess.

I’m happy he has a new job, but I’m selfishly thinking about how my life is changing.

I’ve mentioned before how Vince made breakfast for me every morning and brought me a cup of coffee while I was getting ready for work. He’d pack the lunch that we’d prepared the evening before into my insulated lunch bag and he’d place our morning vitamins by our plates along with a big glass of water so our bodies would be loaded up with every vitamin in the alphabet for the day.

Yeah, well, none of that is happening anymore. And I’m feeling a little sorry for myself.

It’s not like I didn’t take care of myself for years before Vince entered my life. I can certainly slap a slice of bread in the toaster and can probably even butter it without assistance. But I’m more likely to grab a breakfast bar to eat on the go. And while I can put my salad in a lunch bag all by myself, I’ll miss those little love notes he’d write on my napkin. On my own, daily vitamin-taking was hit or miss at best. And as for my actually cooking breakfast in a pan on the actual stove? Please.

So it was nice having someone take care of me for a little while.

But the worst thing is going to be fixing my own coffee. I’m no good at it. For decades I refused to drink the stuff because, to me, coffee tastes like sludge. Not that I specifically know what sludge tastes like – but let’s just say I wasn’t enjoying the flavor.

Instead, I was a Diet Coke Queen who started my day with a can. Or three. But then I started getting headaches in the morning and Vince convinced me to give coffee another try. He had to load it up with soy milk and hazelnut flavoring and top it off with a dollop of whipped cream, but I eventually I gave in. Grudgingly.

And then the headaches stopped. Even better, I discovered that coffee has more caffeine than soda, which – hey – keeps a body awake for most of the day! That was some happy news right there. And since I’ve been drinking coffee my head has never come close to smacking my desk. So I figured I was now a former Diet Coke Queen.

But when I try to fix my own cup of coffee, I invariably get the mixture wrong – too much flavoring or not enough soy milk. Sigh. Apparently I need a remedial coffee preparation course. Especially after this morning’s fiasco. The coffee was literally undrinkable. Thus, my sleepy state today.

There may be some positives coming out of this new schedule, though. I’m thinking of getting up earlier so I can head to the gym and get in a morning workout. That’s something I used to do in my former single life and I can probably do it again since no one will be at home anymore lovingly scrambling me an egg.

But I’m definitely gonna have to figure out the caffeine thing first. I read something recently about how apples actually work better at keeping a person awake than coffee (or Diet Coke).

Hmmm…I think I’ll head over to Kroger’s and stock up on some Red Delicious apples. And…maybe I’ll also pick up a 12-pack of Diet Coke. Just in case.