is always delicious.
My favorite part of every day is sipping my first cup of morning coffee. The world seems quiet, the pace slow and the distractions minimal.
Five years ago March; the sun was shining through the front window, the day just beginning with the aroma from the coffee pot all encompassing. Normally, I would be pouring the coffee & most likely multitasking, kicking off the start of my day with a bang. This specific morning, I was simply just sitting as I was overcome by the brewing aroma…the taste…the moment. Truly overwhelmed by something that once was so simple and so routine. The vividness 5 years later remains; my eyes welled up from the simple and pure joy of my most delicious cup of morning coffee that I had ever tasted. You might be wondering to yourself, what kind of beans…what kind of coffee pot…what mug…what comfy couch? I would say to you it doesn’t really matter…and I honestly couldn’t answer a single one of those questions, well except the couch (because it is still in the same spot). What I can tell you…I am 5 years cancer free and my morning cup of coffee is…
still always delicious.
“They” say 5 years is a big deal…”they” tell me we only need to see you now as needed…”they” are confident in yearly follow up’s with my primary care team. So I celebrated and celebrate every day over my morning cup o’ Joe…somedays my eyes might well up and I might remind myself to slow down and smell the aroma before the day gets a going.
What’s next many people ask of racing, work, life…etc. I’ve learned a time or two at a young age that crystal balls are sure hard to come by. So I think I’ll continue to live my life one cup at a time and give it my all day in and day out. Yep I know, I’m now in my 40’s. How much longer will you race at an elite level, Nickie? Eh, I don’t know…I have a marathon in 9 days, an off-road Xterra triathlon in May and then we’ll see what sounds fun.
What I do know (my care team was right) is that, "One day cancer won’t occupy every thought of your day. One day you will be ok without us." They were right…100%. To fellow cancer survivors & to those of you in the cancer journey currently, to other elite athletes, to my network of friends and family…you too can enjoy your morning cup of coffee the same way I do. You don’t always have to know your next move or worry about every day ahead.
My coffee cup is empty now…I think I’ll go for a swim and run.