A Coffee ‘I Love You’

Facts of Life

Catholic wife and mother Haley Stewart, at CarrotsforMichaelmas.com, wrote a blog post in November titled “What My Love Affair With Coffee Taught Me About Marriage.”

“The other morning, my husband said, ‘I love you.’ Well, actually, I just heard: ‘I love you.’ What he actually said was: ‘Here’s your coffee,’ as he set down my favorite mug on our bedside table. Leaving me to nurse our daughter in the quiet bedroom, he walked out to begin the lively breakfast dance of frying potatoes while our 3-year-old and 5-year-old scampered around the kitchen — leaving an obstacle course of Lego creations and Play-Doh mines for the cook.

“It may seem like a small gesture, but, truly folks, handing a cup of coffee to a tired mother is like crafting a ballad of undying devotion. …

“When I look at my husband over my cup of coffee, I see him differently than I did the morning after our wedding. I know him more deeply. I’m less naive, but more in love. … The good thing about marriage is that it’s full of grace. Grace to cover our sin. Grace to hold us together. Grace to not give up on each other. And sometimes that grace flows through a simple cup of coffee, given at the right moment, so that it speaks ‘I love you’ with each sip.”