One of my all-time favorite, comfy, cozy drinks is a combination of coffee, hot chocolate, creamer, and sweetener. I remember in nurses’ training, I was able to concoct this drink in the distinctive St. Luke’s mug I received from my Big Sister (someone whose name I just can’t remember). We weren’t allowed to have hot plates in our rooms but I’d found an electric heating coil I could plug in then immerse the metal into the mug of cold water. In less than five minutes, I had bubbling water. Instant coffee, instant cocoa, powdered creamer, and a package of sugar did the trick.
My stash of instant products was kept in a metal tin next to the kitty cat light my Dad had donated to my room from his sojourn in the Philippines just before he retired from the Marines. The lamp itself stood 16 inches high on a black plastic base large enough to also hold an opaque glass figurine of a kitten with its tail curled around its feet.
The bulb inside the cat acted as a night light so my Dad or I always had some kind of warm, glowy greeting when we returned from dinner. His evening meal was shared in a mess hall with hundreds of other Marines. My last meal of the day was in St. Luke’s Hospital's cafeteria which served patients’ families, staff, doctors, interns, residents, and lowly student nurses.
Sometimes I’d make my special drink first thing in the morning as I dressed before attending the required chapel service instead of eating a healthy breakfast or during a weekend afternoon of studying as a treat. Remembering my ritual now and digging through the cupboards to find the powered hot chocolate, which must be at least ten years old, I wondered why I never made my special drink for my first or second husbands or even my kids.
Maybe it was because my first husband was addicted to Pepsi for his caffeine fix. My second husband was a purist and liked his coffer black. I think I didn’t want to introduce caffeine when my two were young and now my daughter likes some kind of Star Buck mixture and my son takes his as strong as possible.
Maybe it’s because I wanted to keep a little something just for me without exposing it to criticism or opinions or possible rejection. It’s just mine and no one else has to like it.
The kitty-cat light is long gone, and the mixture now has decaf coffee and no added sugar instant cocoa with non-dairy creamer and stevia. Oh well.
Interesting how I pulled the memory forward to this time while I’m learning the ropes at living alone and did it on a gray day with wild winds battering the trees. Another sign I’m learning to care for myself again.
