Cup of Questions

I keep 7 or 8 coffee cups, and one is perfect for this morning. Which one? I know it when I see it, not before. But they’re not in the cupboard above the coffeemaker. You might think they belong there but that’s cliché. Besides, these are also soup cups, like the barrel-shaped green one. And they’re teacups, especially the old earthenware mug with the ski-shaped handle; I still need to find a potter who can repair the one broken ski tip. The orange one showing Southern California scenes holds my oatmeal, and its place at the back of the top shelf defines oatmeal in my breakfast rotation. Or maybe I’ve lost a taste for the mug.

Coffee and cup pairing – I won’t dwell on the decision but the right cup does more than just deliver a stimulant. It’s the first in a day of decisions; done well and I might hit all green lights on the way to work.

But I meet no green lights, or red, on my commute up the stairs. So how do I know if I chose the wrong coffee cup? When might I know?

Unsure but waking up, I go up to my office with a short stop before the window on the landing. This is my sunset window mostly, but I like watching the neighbor boys grapple as they wait for the school bus. I flash back to boarding my school bus to Oakwood Elementary; I wonder what my old pal John is doing this morning, or any morning?

I roll my chair up to the 1950s era wooden desk my dad used; it’s too small for work but too big in my life to get rid of. Would a larger flat surface enable more accomplishments, greater creativity? In front of me I can see all the projects I need to finish, plus some new work I hope to earn. There is room for a lamp in the left corner, three pens though I use just the red one, and the stained coaster that holds my coffee cup. Which is nearly empty. So I commute back downstairs for a warm-up.

Coffee, questions, and flights of stairs fill my morning. But mostly questions. Since my brain is a night person, I hold off on the big thinking until later. Mornings are for photo editing, page layout work, organizational projects, and coffee. I don’t drink that much, maybe 4 half cups, but I’m a slow drinker so it feels some time.

As long as I accomplish one good work item before noon, I feel better about workout time in the basement. When there is a race on my calendar, my training plan is dictated for a few weeks. In reality, these events help reduce decision-making pressure. I’m a racer on paper only.

In this shoulder season – ski racing is melting away and bike season is coming soon – the dreadful indoor bike trainer gets about 45 minutes of my time. A distracting YouTube video takes my mind off the session and the afternoon of work ahead.

Back upstairs and I have projects to pitch and sentences to sell; that onus hangs like the smell of coffee in the kitchen. How can I propose that idea again, anew? With lunch settling, I know it’s still too early for the creativity that impresses. This early in the day, I’m much more ?? than !!

“Christine, what are we making for dinner?