Paloma's Profound Thought No. 6

"What do you drink

What do you eat at breakfast

And I know who you are"

“Every morning at breakfast, Papa drinks a coffee and reads the newspaper.  Several newspapers in fact: Le Monde, Le Figaro, Liberation and, once a week, L’Express, Les Echoes, Time and Courrier International.  But I can tell that the most satisfying thing for him is his first cup of coffee with Le Monde.  He is absorbed by his reading fro at least half an hour. In order to enjoy this half-hour, he has to get up very early, because his days are full.  But every morning, even if there’s been an overnight session and he has only slept two hours, he gets up at six and reads his newspaper while he drinks a strong cup of coffee.  In this way Papa constructs himself, everyday.  I say ‘constructs himself’ because I think that each time, it’s a new construction, as if everything has been reduced to ashes during the night, and he has to start from scratch.  In our world, that’s the way you live your grown-up life: you must constantly rebuild your identity as an adult, the way it’s been put together it is wobbly and ephemeral, so fragile, cloaking despair and, when you’re in front of the mirror, it tells you the lies you need to believe.  For Papa, the newspaper and the coffee are magic wands that transform him into an important man. Like a pumpkin into a carriage. Of course he finds this very satisfying: I never see him as calm and relaxed as when he’s sitting drinking his six o’clock coffee.” Pg 88, The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Muriel Barbery

A child's perspective. Coffee absolutely 'constructs' me at the beginning of everyday.  Is there anything better than a coffee and paper on the weekend with the sunshine on my back.  A day like today.  BTW - Mr and I's latest obsession is banana with honey and cinnamon on toast. Try it!