Coffee and Nicotine

There is a line from a Sheryl Crowe song that says, "I been swimmin' in a sea of anarchy, I been living on coffee and nicotine. I been wondering if all the things I've seen were ever real..." I am not even quite sure what that song is about (Miss Sheryl and I have long been sufferers of a communication breakdown), but that line always resonates with me. I think it's because, no matter what could ever go on in the world or at home, I will always love coffee and cigarettes. I am pretty sure that is not what she is trying to say, but that is what makes sense to me. Every morning, as the kids and the husband are racing around, doing their morning thing, I am usually trying to find socks or backpacks, signing homework, checking the calendar, and just waiting on that coffee pot. Unfailingly, it is done as soon as the boys go to school. I grab a cup, sit down outside and have a smoke, and ignore the world for half an hour. It's heaven. Meanwhile, my three-year-old is coloring on the walls, my two-year-old is dumping out the trash, and the baby is crying...even though they all know it's supposed to be mommy's quiet time.

That song brings a mental picture of the world just exploding around me, and everything and everyone is in chaos, cars are out of control, news anchors are conjuring up emotions they forgot they had, and I am sitting on the front porch, screaming, "SHUT UP!!! I need my coffee first!!! Anyone got a light??? I can schedule in complete global destruction at 8:30, just as soon as I get in some toxins!" But really, at that point, what better thing to do than to all sit down and have some coffee? And I imagine that, if a few more politicians would take up smoking, we would not have so many issues. They would all be too busy coughing to do much damage.