When life hands you creamer…

I don’t always start my mornings with a cup of coffee. Sometimes, I’ll have tea. Other times, a Bloody Mary.

 

At the office, however, I often start the day with a cup of joe. Like BioMom, I’m particular about my creamer. I’ve taken a few bottles into work but I’ll still ‘cream at home’ on occasion.

 

I prefer to put my creamer in the cup and then add coffee and, if I have my choice, I prefer the pot to the pod. Yesterday morning, I poured my creamer, placed my cup under the Keurig, and let the brewing begin. I was pretty excited for this cup because I had just purchased a vanilla flavored coffee and knew it was going to be one of my best cups yet.

 

As usual, I was pretty distracted during the brewing process. When it was done, I was bewildered.

 

“Why is my coffee white?” I asked aloud, to no one.

 

My coffee looked like milk. I wondered if the Keurig was malfunctioning but then wondered if I had actually purchased vanilla steamers instead of vanilla flavored coffee.

 

I tasted the warm white beverage and decided it was, in fact, a steamer.

 

I beckoned a non-coffee drinker into the break room and informed her she had to try it. She did, and she liked it, so we begin to brew her a cup. Her coffee mug was tall so we couldn’t see the brewing in action but when it was done she was quite disappointed.

 

“Mine is coffee. Mine is black and yours is white,” she told me.

 

Sensing a little judgment, I quoted a Michael Jackson song, “It don’t matter if you’re black or white.”

 

“My cup smells like coffee,” was her reply.

 

As I tried to wrap my head around what happened, another coworker joined us in the break room and wondered if, in fact, my coffee pod lacked quality control and only had the vanilla flavoring.

 

“Possibly,” I said.

 

“Or, I wonder if you never put your pod in the Keurig,” she suggested and added, “You may just be drinking hot water with creamer.”

 

I hated to admit it, but she was right. Sitting right next to my coffee cup was my unused pod.

 

So, I grabbed my warm beverage, headed toward the door and exclaimed, “When life hands you creamer, make a steamer!”

 

Then, I went to my office, grabbed my vicarious vacation viewer and, with snow falling outside, I flicked through photos of warm places while sipping my vanilla steamer.