Full Growed

Various people have various opinions on what “full growed” means. In cultures that have Quinceanera it is when your daughter turns 15 she is a woman . 16 means drivers license, 18 means voting, 21 means drinking. From there you have all the big 0’s. You know 30, 40, 50 and as I have recently discovered 60!! I have an Aunt Shirley and per Aunt Shirley you are not “Full Growed” until you are 62! I am not sure why that number but once we were together on her birthday (61) that is when she said 62! One of the markers in my Dad’s mind was drinking coffee…black coffee! So by that means of measure I am still in puberty! I drink what I like to call my ranchers coffee. Enough sugar to choke a horse and enough milk to drain a cow.

You never really know someone unless you know how they take their coffee. Some years ago my brother Ron was home for a visit. I realized that while I know that one of his favorite hang outs is his local Starbucks, I didn’t know how he took his coffee. I asked if he wanted coffee. His answer was of course “YES!” I poured a cup and then asked how he took it. Now you have to understand that my brother came from the same gene pool as I did. So his answer was a little ambiguous and just a little odd. Now I have heard various ways of saying plain coffee. My oldest brother smirked and said “I like my coffee like I like my women.” Now the answer I have always associated with that is “Strong and black” Now that answer is just a little odd. Not that there is any thing wrong in that answer but In my family we make milk look tan. As I waited for his answer I must have had a funny look on my face. He smirked and said “Plain and unadorned!” I handed him a cup and he looked at me and said “This can’t be coffee I can see the bottom of  the cup!” So I guess for him the measure is stand a spoon in it and “plain and unadorned”

Dad drank coffee from morning until he went to bed. Summer, Winter no matter what he had to have his coffee. I don’t think I remember my Dad ever drinking plain water or even soda. He could literally drink a cup of coffee and go to bed. After Dad passed we had joked that if they had put coffee in his IV he would have been fine. I hope you all find your “Full Growed” spot and stay just a little short of it. Life should be about growing, so if you are “Full Growed” you might just be tempted to stop! I guess that is a place I don’t want to be. There is always something worth growing for!