Jennifer Still The author, pictured above, makes coffee for her partner every morning.
- More than a year ago, I started making coffee for my partner every morning before she comes downstairs.
- It's a small gesture of gratitude that has now become a standard part of my morning routine.
- Our coffee time ensures we get at least a few minutes of conversation and checking in before our days begin.
Every morning, I follow the same routine.
I wake up around 6:30 a.m., check my phone or read a book for half an hour, and head to the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face. I get dressed and take the dog for a walk. When I get back, I drink a glass of green juice and take my morning supplements.
Then, I do the one thing that marks the real beginning of my day: I make a double shot of espresso for my partner.
This tradition began a little over a year ago when we decided to invest in a proper espresso machine. While I've always been a bit of an iced coffee addict, we both agreed it'd be good to be able to make a morning shot or two from the comfort of our own home.
Because I'm generally more of a morning person, I usually end up downstairs and in the kitchen first, leaving me in charge of the espresso making. It's ended up being one of the things that makes my partner happy.
While my partner's not one of those people who can't function without caffeine, she is someone whose brain does sort of click on once she's had a hit of it first thing. The first morning I sat the little red Le Creuset espresso cup in front of her, she looked at me with what I can only describe as pure, unfiltered gratitude to the point that it actually made me laugh. As she took a sip, she dramatically sighed and thanked me for helping her wake up.
It's a small gesture that means something big to my partner
It takes roughly three minutes from start to finish, but for my partner, it's a meaningful gesture that shows her how much I care about her.
She can sit and do her makeup and hair and enjoy some coffee as she prepares for her day. It doesn't seem like a big deal, and in reality it's not, but because it means so much to her, it makes me even happier to do it.
It also brings us closer as a couple
It only takes us about five minutes to drink a cup of espresso, but the fact that we take those five minutes to sit together and talk about the day ahead before we head out into the busy world means a lot.
It's hard to find time to connect sometimes, and if it weren't for our morning coffee ritual, it's unlikely we'd find the time to catch up until late evenings most nights. It's yet another reason I treasure the mornings.
While it's unlikely that a shot of espresso made by my partner would taste any different to the ones I pull, she often jokes that one of the reasons she appreciates my making hers every morning is that it tastes so much nicer.
I know she's just trying to flatter me and that she's being rather silly, but I still accept the compliment and it always makes me smile when she says it.
And it's part of my own routine now, too.
Sure, it's part of my routine because I also drink coffee. But on the rare mornings that she's not home first thing and it's just me, it feels strange only making one double shot instead of two. In fact, I've actually gone so far as to make the second double shot without realizing what I was doing until after it was made. You can imagine just how caffeinated I was that morning!
It goes to show how easily a simple gesture of gratitude can become part of your daily routine.