Drinking coffee with generations past

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Where we live in North Alabama we kinda skipped over fall this year and just rushed right into winter as of this past week, but we are loving every second of it.

For us, winter is one of the shortest seasons of the year, it sneaks in between fall and spring so fast that if you blink you might miss it, and before you know it we’re at 100 degree heat index again. So needless to say, we try to get out and experience whenever the opportunity presents itself.

With our son away at college now, just the three of us are left at home. Katy is soon to be fourteen years old and we are cherishing our special time with her. Each of us, even Katy, have noticed how quickly this year has flown by and so we decided to make a pact with one another that we would go for a walk, every night, after supper.

It’s been a little over a week now and we’ve kept it up. We finish our supper, put on a pot of coffee for later, grab out coats and flashlights and set out.

There is a quietness in the winter night that is unlike any other, a peace over everything no matter how busy the day – and that is exactly what we’re going for.

And we step out of this world and into that one, and we walk, and we talk, and we laugh, and we talk over our days. Often, we stop to take photos of the moon or pet some of the friendly neighborhood cats who join us for part of our journey. Sometimes we pause to sit on the curb and just be still for a bit.

Then we come home to a fresh pot of coffee, take off our coats, and sit down together, none of us wanting to let go of this special time just yet. Our coffee is like the porridge of three bears. My husband’s is black, mine has a little cream in it, and Katy’s is light as can be with extra sweetness, just like my Grandmama used to make me when I was her age.

And the pouring of the coffee seems to signal the time to reminisce as my husband and I share memories of our childhood with Katy and she listens with a twinkle in her eye, eager to imagine her parents and previous generations as they were decades ago.

I know she feels that same magical connection that I felt when I was in her shoes, sitting with my grandparents over evening coffee and listening to them talk over old times. Memories were passed on to me that were so vivid and detailed that I still see them in my mind, playing out before my eyes. I can tell you stories about ancestors who were gone a generation before I arrived as if I had grown up alongside them. Family stories of hardship, overcoming, love, and laughter, lots of laughter.

It was their legacy. It became mine, and it will be Katy’s.

And I know that someday, because of these evenings, she will have these special nights with her own children. Chances are they will begin just as they did for me as a child and just as they do for her – with loving hands making up a special cup of coffee, extra sweet, for the extra special memories being made.

This post was graciously sponsored by my friends at Red Diamond Coffee & Tea. Red Diamond is an Alabama based, family owned company that has been serving up delicious coffee for generations and it’s all we’ve drank for about two years now because it’s just the best. Thank you, Red Diamond, for helping me encourage families to slow down, savor the precious moments in our life, and enjoy our loved ones every chance we get. 

You might enjoy my Butter Coffee Cake or Coffee Meringue Pie recipes!

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14 Comments

  1. Love reading about your growing-up and things you did.. Today you talk about memories that you are making with your children, love this.

  2. Such precious moments that create the most cherished and sweet memories. I remember those same moments with my grandparents. And the sweet coffee. The only way I will drink coffee to this day! Very touching and you are capturing that feeling of connection that so many are starved for today. Love it!

  3. Brings back memories of my son when he was a toddler in the 1970’s. He would say, “Cuppa cobbee!” when my husband and I were having a cup of coffee. We would give him a little cup of milk, and he was pleased as punch.

  4. This post just made me sigh with a peaceful feeling. I love your little family. I hope that’s not weird! We didn’t do it every night but sometimes my mother and I would take little walks in the evening. I’m the oldest of four and I don’t know what the other three were doing but when I was a teen it was just my mother and I. When we lived in Germany when I was a child (my dad was in the air force) and we would visit relatives (my mother was German) we would sometimes all go on walks together. I have great memories of that time.

  5. As an empty nester, I know too well how quickly those years pass. You’ll cherish these times and I bet your son will want to join you when he finishes those first semester exams!

  6. I just love your intentionality and how the simplest of habits turn into a lifetime of memories. And, your heart was so beautifully expressed in these words! I know you all will look back and cherish these times together! (And now it makes me want to put on a pot of coffee and go for a walk with my family!)

  7. I started to say that you have no idea how you are blessing your child with this time, but of course you do, because you were blessed by your own parents. When I was a little girl, my Mom worked (she taught nursing on a university level) which was very unusual for the early 60s. She got home around 3, as did I, and my Dad would take a break, walk across the street to our house, and the 3 of us would sit around the table, them with their coffee, and me with my “coffee milk”. It’s one of my best memories from my childhood. My husband and I tried to bless our kids this way, and I see my son trying to establish some rituals with his daughter and stepson. Time and history are the most precious gift we give our kids, IMO. Blessings to you and yours!

    1. Oh my goodness, I’m so glad you took the time to write this. Sometimes I can’t help but wonder if my little corner of the world looks like anyone else’s little corner of the world and then I read things like this and I’m reminded of how very connected we all are. You blessed me today!

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