American actor, Clark Gable, was born on this day in 1901 (died 1960).
If you know me at all, you know I’m pretty serious about my coffee.
After all, you should be following my #morningcup and my #morningcupofinspiration posts. You are, aren’t you?
I often joke about how coffee gets me going. But, in reality, I’ve realized that if I’m taking care of myself, I can
The Write Side Shop (click the pic)
get going in the morning without coffee.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like doing that, but I can.
I’ve also discovered that there’s a certain point in the day when having coffee is no longer a good idea. Maybe it’s the caffeine that keeps me awake, or more likely just the added activity for the kidneys.
So in the evenings if I want something hot, I’ll switch to tea, preferably an herbal tea with little or no caffeine. If I’m splurging and pretending not to be on a primal eating plan, I might have hot chocolate…but only until we run out of the K-cups that no one else is using.
I could live without coffee. I just don’t want to.
I love my morning cups when I’m reading. Or when I’m sitting on the beach watching the sunrise.
Coffee helps me ease into the day. But enough about coffee, sort of.
As a writer I talk about certain things I need or want to have. Coffee is one of those things.
I’ve talked about my office and my writing space. I’ve talked about having things just right to write…so to speak.
But, let’s not kid ourselves. I don’t need those things to write. I just want them.
I’m currently having this internal debate about whether or not I need a new laptop. The PC on which I work is aging. Yes, I had the good sense to purchase an external hard drive and I back it up periodically.
What of that dream of writing in a coffee shop? I’ve got an iPad and I can use that to write, but formatting and blog posting is difficult. And graphic work is pretty much out of the question.
As soon as the Lord brings Janis her Mercedes Benz, I’m hoping for a laptop.
Actually, I had a friend’s Mercedes parked in my driveway for the last six months until we could complete the donation. But that’s another story.
The truth of the matter is this; I don’t need a new laptop. I just want one.
And, if I’m being dreadfully honest, I don’t need coffee in the morning. I just want it.
So much of what we think we need is just what we want.
I mean, in reality, we had books before laptops, and computers…and even before typewriters.
Although trust me, if I have to handwrite it, there won’t be a book, or a script.
True story: Most days I can’t read my own handwriting.
But getting things done, and for this post anyway, that’s writing, is all about using the tools we have at hand.
I’m blessed to have both an old PC, and the iPad, as well as numerous notebooks and journals. I’m particularly blessed that my wife encouraged me to set up my own home office.
But my progress, or lack thereof, in writing, is not dependent upon those things. Those can help. Those can assist.
The work of writing consists of sitting down…wherever I may be…and putting one word in front of the other.
That I can stop and sip coffee between words or sentences is an added bonus…as is staring out the window to see the blessing of a yard that desperately needs attention…it’s winter…give me a break.
Life is about taking what we have and making the best of it.
It’s a new month. While it seems like we still have the whole year in front of is, eleven months isn’t as much time as we might think.
Did you meet your goals in January? I met some.
I drank plenty of coffee. I wrote more than 1,000 words a day. Some of them were good ones.
I am not yet thin, nor independently wealthy. Both my holiday chickens and holiday spending came home to roost. We’re working on that.
And we’re going to get things done.
As soon as I get another cup of coffee.
In other news, Russian politician and 1st President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, was born on this in 1931 (died 2007). In 1992, while we were still living in the Washington, DC, I had the privilege of being on the South Lawn of the White House as President George H.W. Bush welcomed Boris Yeltsin to DC.
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What of that dream of writing in a coffee shop? I’ve got an iPad and I can use that to write, but formatting and blog posting is difficult. And graphic work is pretty much out of the question.
