Gourmet Coffee and Giving Thanks

Pour a cup of Tanzanian Peaberry, Vermont Breakfast Blend or your other favorite coffee and pull up a chair for a chat!

When my kids come home to visit, sharing a cup of coffee has always been one of our bonding activities. (My daughter from Rhode Island just called to tell me to make sure that I've got the Brown & Jenkins Sumatra on hand for her.) Ever since they left home for college, and now have families of their own, catching up over cups of coffee amidst their increasingly busy schedules is more important than ever. In fact, this is the time of year when college kids start to flock home and pick up gift box samplers for Mom and Dad.

How are you spending the holiday?

This Thanksgiving we are bringing the whole clan to the Pines Senior Living Center in Burlington where my mother lives. Her mobility is limited, and the facility has agreed to let us use their dining room for our family gathering. There will be 20 family members and about 6 other residents who live there that don't have holiday plans. We're each going to bring a main dish and an appetizer, and just enjoy each other's company. This seems like the perfect solution for minimal stress and maximum togetherness.

What are you getting ready to give thanks for?

Sometimes the answers are obvious. Some days or even years, you've got to look deeper and beyond the financial struggles, strained family relationships, loved ones overseas or failing health to find the good things.

These fortunes tend to ebb and flow with the various seasons of our lives. Right now, I'm extremely fortunate. I have a close knit family and I get to be a grandma to 7 beautiful children. The move we made just over a year ago from the old gourmet coffee roasting warehouse in Burlington to our scenic location in the Green Mountains of Cambridge is justified every time a new neighbor walks through the doors.

'Tis the season to get stressed out with money for holiday travel, cooking the perfect turkey, spending an entire day with your mother-in-law, or finding the perfect gifts on a strapped budget. We all need to take the time to listen to the signals our bodies are sending us. Racing hearts, raised voiced, and nagging headaches are all signs that we need to slow down and take a breather.

So pour yourself a cup of coffee, and just reflect on your good fortune. Whatever your plans are for the Thanksgiving holiday, I hope you can find a quiet moment to be thankful for the good things and people in your life.

Until our next cup,
Sandy Riggen