Decaf

I’m apparently a person who now drinks decaf.

I didn’t drink coffee at all for most of my life, and honestly for a long time I couldn’t stand it. But back in 2016 when my daughter was born, the options were “learn to drink coffee and survive having two kids,” or “die now.” Wisely, I chose coffee, and now, I can’t get through a day without a hit of caffeine in the morning.

This morning, after my first cup of coffee, I wanted something to sort-of maintain the alertness, but I didn’t want yesterday’s jitters from coffee, so I dared to brew a cup of decaf. I’m drinking it now, and it’s actually pretty good. This is a revelation to me: Not only have I taught my taste buds to tolerate coffee, but now I drink it just for the flavor.

Young me would be aghast. But young me isn’t young anymore. And here we are.