A Pinch, Perhaps

I used to drink my coffee with cream and sugar, the way my mother takes it. I wanted the benefits of coffee without the bitterness, and that's what cream and sugar does: takes away the bitterness.

But over time, too much cream and sugar is unhealthy. My mother always takes her coffee that way, but she doesn't take it every day the way I do. Coffee is her dessert with dinner in the early mornings after working nights. I drink it to keep me from missing my morning classes.

I'm afraid relationships are much the same. Cream and sugar, cream and sugar. All the benefits but none of the bitterness. No matter how great it feels and how indulgent is seems, it's not a forever kind of thing.

And I've learned that without the cream and sugar, I can manage the bitterness with a touch of salt. A bit of humility, a pinch of self-reflection, a dash of accountability.

And that's how I manage to reap all the benefits of my daily cup of coffee without the bulk of the bitterness.

For things that live a long time, there's no true way to rid the coffee of bitterness entirely. And a small dose of that unpalatable taste is well worth the benefits I'll be able to reap a long time from now. So long as I take my coffees with a grain of salt.