Dear Shoshana,

See that jam? That lovely orb of purpleness? You made me this jam a long time ago. You made it for a lot of us actually, and I'm probably the only one with any left. Partly that's because I don't eat breakfast much. But I'm also a hoarder. I savor slowly the things that are lovingly made for me. I don't want them to end. I liked knowing it was in the refrigerator waiting for me almost as much as I've been enjoying eating it.

I know I thanked you at the time, but I wanted you to know how much I've appreciated it this week, particularly. This week of waking up and clock-watching and having to shower at a certain time instead of waiting until I feel like it. In this week of hollering about brushed teeth and "we need to go NOW!" your jam has been a sweet way to start my day.

xoxo,

Lauren

A few weeks back Alicia said that when she started blogging, she thought that blogs were about what people had for breakfast...and they are! And while I usually don't eat much of a breakfast I do know that it's the most important meal of the day, blah, blah, blah, and I'm trying to stat the school year off right. Neel makes me coffee every morning. Even if I'm up two hours before he is, I usually wait. Coffee is always better when someone else makes it. In the summer, we'll share a cup together before Callum gets up, but now that the school year is back upon us, Neel'll bring it up to our bedroom while I'm showering. It's funny how you so quickly fall back into familiar routines. I'd forgotten about coffee in the bedroom until Neel carefully rounded the corner yesterday morning, and yet his appearance in the doorway, mugs carefully balanced, was instantly familiar.

And Neel is a careful coffee maker. He could set the timer, but likes to grind the beans each morning. It only takes a second or two he points out, and tastes so much better. Then he always puts my coffee in my favorite Tracy Porter Artesian Road mug, and always puts his in a totally different mug so we can tell them apart. These are from the Crate and Barrell outlet north of San Diego. Man, how I miss that store. And I love these mugs. Now that Tracy Porter has moved in, I rarely drink out of them. Neel had a meeting at school on Tuesday, so he took Callum in and left his coffee behind. I obligingly finished it for him and was surprised at how different his mug felt against my lips.

So while it's coffee most mornings, this week it's been a little more. Sliced peaches with a sprinkle of sugar and nutmeg. Whole wheat waffles with Shoshana's jam. It's not fancy. I use EGGO waffles. I am not loving these whole wheat ones however. I have to toast them three times and they're still a little soft in the center. Shoshana's jam more than makes up though.

These are mornings of shifts. New rhythms to be sure. I'm still figuring the blog thing out. How to have the juice for it after spending the day at the computer. When to write and what to share. It'll all shake out. Soon I'll have as many mornings with my coffee here, buy the computer, as I do at the shower. Just bear with me for awhile, 'kay?