caffeinated...

caffeinated, originally uploaded by jenniferlivolson.

jenni and jen are hosting a blissful benefit to welcome a new baby to a beautiful wonderful mama of two ... jen over at blissfully caffeinated ... who just so happened to be hospitalized and have a baby all within a few days.  and unfortunately the hospitalization initially didn't have anything to do with the baby.  but, that's her story to tell.

anyhoo.  they urged us to show our support by paying homage to jen's favorite beverage. 
(seriously ... could  i use another form of jennifer anymore in that paragraph?)

funny. coffee never meant much of anything to me until i came upon my second child.

i have always LOVED the smell of it. i used to open my mom's coffee jar and smell the beans.
i LOVED the fake taste of coffee in ice cream flavors. especially in a coffee chocolate milkshake.
walking through the grocery store aisle full of beans ... i LOVED looking at all of the options and flavors. the tiny beans spilling over one another.

i just didn't like coffee.

until lil' miss cora came along.

i more than LOVED coffee. i NEEDED coffee.

and not in the i-so-need-a-coffee-or-i'm-gonna-get-a-headache need for coffee.
more in the i LOVE sitting down with my real coffee cup in my hands.

it's the warmth. maybe?
or perhaps, it's the feeling that i'm actually getting to sit. for a minute.

but i think even more than either of those reasons ...
it's the friendship.

weird, huh?

there is just something that is so amazingly wonderful about sitting with friends that are mamas too and drinking a cup of coffee.  there's something about the inability to crazily chase around children while holding a cup of splashing hot liquid that forces you to slow down.

i miss this coffee with friends idea so much that i routinely text my best friend who also happens to be pregnant and say ... i just want to stop by and sip coffee with you while the girls destroy your playroom.
except she lives in utah. so it doesn't happen.

unfortunately, the first few weeks of this pregnancy, the mere thought of coffee kinda made me sick. i'm still not lovin' my morning coffee. but at this point ... it's a weakness. it's more the holding and the slowing down than the actual drinkage.

and i think my point is this ... (finally huh?)

jen?
savor that new baby the way that you savor your coffee. because it's so much more than just the getting it down to achieve caffination. having a new baby is so much more than just raising a child into an adult.

it's about enjoying each and every moment. even when those moments kind of suck, bigtime.
because those moments flee.

congratulations on your new baby girl. she is absolutely beautiful. and i'm so glad to see that you are feeling better.

thinking of you.