Cup of J.O.Y.!

 At the start of the semester, I shared this post on my social media:

I posted this in a local group I am in but thought I would share here, too.

I wanted to share something that’s been on my heart this past summer. Some of you have had the yummy coffee that my hubby and I enjoy and others have inquired about it as of late. Sooo, I wanted to offer my services to each of you through “Cup of JOY!” The idea behind this is kind of like Door Dash where I would bring coffee to you for contactless delivery (a la Coffee Dash..haha!). When you place your order, you would let me know your preferences of the following options:

1) Espresso, Americano, Latte, or Cappucino

2) Iced or Hot (depending on how far you live from me, you might need to microwave the coffee to become hot again or put more ice cubes in it)

3) Strength of coffee: mild, medium, or strong

4) Which flavor or combo of flavor? These vary…right now we have Chocolate Macadamia Nut, Crème de Banana, Amaretto, or Crème Caramel

My hubby and I are *not* baristas, coffee roasters, or even coffee connoisseurs…we just missed the coffee we enjoyed while in Austria so much that we ordered an Italian coffee machine two days upon our return to the US and have been sharing the coffee love since. We use Lavazza coffee beans, purified water, & Torani coffee syrups.

I am not sure why this is on my heart as I return back to school but I’m following this prompt and posting anyway! I am usually away from campus on Tuesdays and Thursdays so would most likely be available to make deliveries on those days. It’s a pleasure serving a cup of yumminess to our friends hence the idea behind “Cup of JOY!” at $2 per cup. Here is something I wrote eight years ago about an acronym for JOY that I created (https://pagirlmeg.blogspot.com/2012/09/joy.html). I would love to spread this message of JOY amidst COVID-19 and uncertainties we are all facing at the moment through this fun little side coffee delivery service. My prayer for us all is to, "Help to make all of us a channel of Jesus' peace and to J.O.Y. = Just Open Yourself to trust in Jesus as the Holy Family has shown us...one coffee sip at a time!"

When I felt called to post this, I thought, "Whaaaaat???  School is starting...there is no time to do this...this is silly.  Why would I do this??"  However, this has happened enough times in the past that I know I just need to get out of the way and let God do His thing.  So post I did - and what a joyful experience it has been over the last four weeks to serve in this way!  Making a coffee run was a welcome break from the grading or added to ordinary through delivering to other moms during school drop off or pick up when taking Charlotte to school (thank you, Adam, for filling in a few times) to leaving a cappucino on the doorstep of a convent, to carrying out surprise deliveries for beloved friends, spouses, and inspiring mentors.  I've been able to visit with people (albeit quickly since these are squeezed in between the regular responsibilities and roles I have), get to know my student researcher better, and see the joy on others' faces as they sip the latest concoction (the flavors change every two weeks or so around here). 

My Dad would be so tickled over this latest service project.  There were many Saturday mornings he and I would fill our teacups with tea and enjoy butter and toast for breakfast as a child and even after I had grown and left home.  It was something special just the two of us had as a ritual.  No one else in the family liked tea and to be honest, the way I drink tea is much like how I used to drink coffee....make it to be light brown with all the sugar and milk added and basically have a splash of tea in the cup.  He used to always chuckle and shake his head as he  watched me prepare the tea.  He was satisfied, however, when I would burn his bread to a crisp black burnt toast.  He is still the only one I know who enjoyed eating things crisp and charred like that.  Dad was also always known for having a cup of ice to the top filled with a (diet) soda or in his later years, ice cold water in his cup in the cup holder, on the stand by his recliner, and in the last days, was reduced to crunching ice chips from a small cup at his bedside.  Up until the last couple of days I watched as his devoted wife and us kids brought him cup after cup.  It was the least we could do after he had poured out so much from himself for so many.  He served his country in Vietnam, worked a long hard career in and out of the Air Force, and put his heart and soul into the lives of his children and grandchildren.  I remember, during student teaching, coming across a poem my cooperating teacher had hanging up in the preschool classroom.  I was so moved by it, I had a copy of it made and carried it in my lesson plan book in all the states and schools where I taught.  I now share it with my pre-service educators.  I don't have a picture of the inspirational paper I have in my plan book but I found something online that is close to it:

This was in the back of my mind when I posted on social media about Cup of J.O.Y. last month.  What better time to try to spread some positive and cheerful news, right?  :)

As I sat at the breakfast table this morning, sipping my butter pecan cappucino and dipping my pumpkin bread (made by my friend, Stephanie!) into cinnamon butter, I remembered all those familiar memories of dipping my toast into my tea with Dad.  I imagined what our conversation might have consisted of this morning.  Undoubtedly, I would have told him about this past week's news.  This past week was full of unexpected good news amidst fighting a pretty nasty cold.  I hadn't been sick since March so coming down with the cold seemed particularly difficult but fortunately, I'm on the mend now!  You know the saying, "When it rains, it pours"?  Well....that's what it felt like this week but in a super terrific way!  In the past week, I finished writing a prospective book chapter on my first major solo study since my dissertation, a colleague and I found out our article was published, another colleague and I found out we are presenting a study we're almost done writing about at a conference in October, and another colleague and I are getting started with our literacy grant!  Then, yesterday, I woke up to news that a monograph I wrote a chapter for is on its way to the publisher and today an article yet another colleague and I wrote is under review.  I'm also about to start a new study with two other colleagues next week (due to postponing the meeting from this past week because of my pesky cold).  Next week I also start my research cohort seminar as a High-Impact Scholar based out of Texas.  That's a lot to digest!  I'm writing this out again so I can remember this past week when I'm feeling particularly unproductive:

1) article published with colleague

2) article under review with colleague

3) monograph chapter submitted to publisher

4) book chapter drafted and soon ready to submit

5) major study concluded

6) other major study almost concluded and draft of that manuscript is nearly done but found out I'll be presenting with colleague at a conference next month

7) beginning literacy grant with colleague

8) about to start new study with two other colleagues

9) about to dive into High-Impact Scholar work on first year experiences and retention....yay!

All this is just scholarship...the service is blowing up in spite of the pandemic and well, teaching, I'm hoping my students are feeling like they're successful as students in my five courses as we head into our sixth week of on the ground instruction at our institution.  Hopefully they are able to see, in spite of being in an online only format this semester, that I have continued to put my all into their instruction as I always do.  However, I have to say I'm grateful to *only* teach four classes in the spring given all that is happening both personally and professionally these days.  Technically, with running two separate grants and the High-Impact Scholar business, I should have three course reductions.  Not to mention the idea of writing a textbook with a colleague that is on the horizon...hopefully that will keep until 2021 at least...!  

Yes, Dad's head would probably be spinning if we were engaging in conversation this morning as we used to do over our tea and toast.  I miss his conversations as he genuinely cared about my work and would seek to understand what I was doing if it was unfamiliar to him.  Right about now, he would probably say something like, "And to think those doctors said you had mental retardation - let's show them your PhD" or something to that effect referring to the early medical professionals who had written me off when talking to Mom and Dad about my "challenges" as an incorrectly diagnosed child.  Hmm, this might come up in my talk I'll be giving on campus on Tuesday night.  ;)

So, I'm sitting here enjoying the last couple of sips of my cup of coffee and am looking ahead at the remainder of this semester with joy - - just opening myself to all of it - - the possible rejection, the possible acceptance, the possible lack of acknowledgement, but the assurance of knowing I put my all into everything and that's the best I can do...and that's enough.  What's in YOUR cup?  What are you spilling out (in a good way) to and for others?