Drink!
I like to drink. I’m kinda known for it. I’m not a falling down, sloppy drunk, getting pulled over by the cops on my way home from a bender kinda guy, but I enjoy drinking. I have three beverages of choice: water (lot’s of it); tea (at least one cup a day); and booze (the mother of all liquids!). I do, however, take my drinking seriously, whatever it might be that I have in my cup at the moment.
Wherever I go, whatever I am doing, I always have my water bottle with me. It’s pretty much my security blanket. I’ve left the house to run errands and discovered I left my water at home, and almost had a panic attack. Holy crap! I forgot my water, what am I going to do. Will I be alright? Should I go home and get it? What to do…what to do…what to do…all the while gripping the steering wheel with white knuckles and sweat pouring down my face. For whatever reason, it never occurs to me to simply stop at a gas station and buy a new bottle of water, or simply wait and buy one when I get to the grocery store that I am already driving to. Nope, dumb ass me turns around, goes back in the house, disarms the alarm, says hello to the dogs, grabs the magical bottle of water, gives the dogs a treat, re-arms the security system, and heads back out. Whew! That was a close one. It’s nice that after almost fifty years on this planet I’ve regressed to needed to suckle on a teat again.
I’m not particularly ashamed about my “security blanket”, after all, water is necessary for good health, and, while I’m not a health nut, I pay careful attention to what I eat and I exercise regularly (although not that much, I mean, come on…SOMEONE has to watch all those movies/TV shows, listen to all that music, and read everything, right?). So I’ve come to turns with my little addiction, showing up at friend’s parties with my water (even though they have water in the house), taking it to work (where water is also easy to get), family get-togethers (again, my Mom has running water, too), errands, movies, the bank…everywhere. Just in case.
I’m a newcomer to tea. It’s become a daily habit over the last year, and I am VERY happy to welcome it into my life. For me, it has a similar calming effect that alcohol has, and, no, I don’t drink decaf. I started drinking tea for health reasons. About a year ago, in an effort to stop having chronic seizures and get off of the (what I considered toxic) medication, I did a complete overhaul of my diet and my approach to eating and nutrition. I cut out all refined sugars, gluten, dairy, and chemicals. I started meal planning and went from a guy who MIGHT eat a salad-lettuce only, thank you, don’t sneak in any other kind of vegetable-to a veggie lover. I basically adopted a paleo type diet.
I haven’t had a seizure since. I haven’t taken any medication for seizures in months.
After I went through the fun of sugar withdrawal, my palate changed. I no longer craved sweets, so, I was now free to enjoy plain, unsweetened, non-dairy tea. I started for the health benefits, now I just like it. Tea has been linked to heart health, and as a person with a heart problem/high blood pressure, it was an easy addition to my daily menus.
The fun of tea, at least from my point of view, isn’t just drinking it. It’s in the preparation. First, you have to choose a type of tea-green, black, earl gray, chai, fruit flavored, mint-whatever you want. Then, you pick a mug. I’ve been using one a client of mine at my previous bank job gave me when she found out I was quitting to follow my dream of writing. It’s oversized, white, and simple says, “Follow your dreams” on it.
Yeah, I know, corny and sappy, but the thought behind the gift was true and well meant, so it makes me happy to use it.
Other days I might grab a mug with a sketch of a pig on it, or the Justice League of America, or the X-Men. It all depends on my mood. Making these choices forces you to slow down. Making tea requires a small bit of patience. A little Zen. It’s nice stopping, taking a break from laundry, or paying bills, cleaning the house or the cat litter boxes. You have to stop and just focus on one, simple thing. Making tea. I don’t have a teapot at the moment, my old one broke, so for now I’m nuking my water in the microwave. Three minutes. BEEP…BEEP…BEEP…then five minutes to steep. I like mine strong so I use two tea bags. I prefer using a tea kettle, however. I like to think the energy from the fire from the gas stove seeps into the water as it slowly boils, it’s steam finally escaping with a gentle whistle from the spout.
Wait a few minutes for it to cool a little and, if I’m feeling especially crazy, add a teaspoon of honey. Then sit, sip, and think.
It’s the same thing with booze. I don’t drink beer, just wine and spirits. If I’m drinking wine, it’s some kind of red, usually a cheap one, under ten bucks. Pick a wine glass, get the cork screw, un-cork, let it breathe a moment, and pour. Then sit, sip, and think.
Cocktails are my favorite things to drink, though. This is where it gets REALLY zen. You see, not only do you have to choose the right glass (I should point out that my partner, Tommy, and I have a rather unhealthy glassware addiction. It actually takes a little while to pick the right one we have so many), but you also have to actually craft the drink. Our favorite? The Bijou:
One part gin
One part sweet vermouth
One part green chartreuse
A couple of dashes of orange bitters
Toss the ingredients in a shaker with lots of ice, and shake untill the cold makes your hand hurt. Pour into a martini glass, and garnish with an orange wedge or an orange peel.
If you’re not garnishing your cocktails at home, you are missing out. The garnish makes it a little special, a little artsy. A little more Zen.
(a nice collection of bitters is mandatory as well)
Even a simple drink, bourbon on the rocks or gin over ice, takes some slowing down. Choose a glass, then a nice, BIG piece of ice. SLOOOWWLLY drizzle the bourbon (or gin) over the frozen water, melting it slightly, opening up the flavors of the spirit.
Grab a chair outside in the hot summer evening, listen to the cars driving by, watch the trees sway in the breeze. Sit, sip, and think. Or, even better, you aren’t drinking alone, but with someone special-a lover, friend, sister-so you sit, sip, and talk. It’s amazing what you can learn about someone over a drink, and what they can learn about you.
Plus, you get buzzed!
For health reasons, I’ve limited my weekly drinking from 8 days a week (I drank A LOT!) to three. On my non-booze days, to be honest, I miss it. Not the warm, fuzzy, buzzy feeling you get from alcohol, but the act and the presentation of making the cocktail. The sitting outside, under the shade tree, with Tommy, having a conversation about nothing important, that slowly, naturally, morphs into a forgotten story from our youth, or the looming fear of losing an aging parent. Stopping everything to drink gives us the time to connect in a way that brings us closer together than the best sex we’ve ever had.
I will happily raise my glass to that!