Black Coffee and 9th Grade

Two days ago I watched Annie take a sip of black coffee she had just made.   

“Ummmm.  Ahhhhh. This is sooooo good!” 

Her eyelids were half closed as she was drowning in the moment, enjoying the rich African coffee, the complex aromas and flavorful oils from the beans preserved by using a french press.

Black coffee? At 14 years old? When did that happen? 

I don’t remember making that black cup for her the first time. I don’t remember when she moved from a mocha with whip to a mocha no whip, to a light mocha, to a plain latte to a black coffee…to a coffee connoisseur who appreciates the richness and boldness and purity of 100% Arabica coffee beans.

Well, okay, it is true there are no Starbucks in our remote village in Malawi in the middle of Africa.  Sure, it’s probably quite logical that Annie had to learn to drink black coffee during one of the many days we’d run out of milk or sugar in our home in our remote village in Malawi in the middle of Africa.

Still, seeing my daughter drink black coffee and like it – no love it – still gives me goosebumps as I write this (yes, I am unashamedly a coffee freak.)

Don is no longer my black coffee partner. Without a fancy espresso machine here in Malawi,
I can still make him a creamy cappuccino, worthy of documenting in this picture!

Now that I think about it, she must have matured into my black coffee-drinking buddy about the same time she ended 8^th grade and started 9^th grade.  All without pomp and circumstance. All without calling attention to herself.  All in Annie’s dainty, demure disposition.

Demure definition: “Characterized by modesty and shyness.”

I cherish the memories of Demure Annie in the 5^th grade at Iowa Street Elementary with Mrs. Fieri.  This teacher was passionate about writing. Her “Showing Writing” lesson would teach Annie’s class to embrace creative words … 

to feel the words and 

mold the words and 

delight in the words 

like a warm, squishy puppy that you want to snuggle and kiss, words that are alive and jump and just bring out the JOY in your soul.  

In this 5^th grade Showing Writing lesson, Annie had to choose a fresh phrase, an adjective that attached to her name to cleverly capture her true spirit.  And then, she had to create a paragraph of creative metaphors and similes to describe her name phrase.  The writing assignment concluded with a "fashion show" to read and show her writing in character.

Her personal description: Demure Annie 

Her costumed character: an angel

That was five years ago!  And this demure damsel--who somehow resembles a confident teenager more than a shy, modest 5^th grader and is now drinking black coffee and homeschooling in Africa and working on advanced Geometry and writing her own creative, showing words that would bring tears to Mrs. Fieri’s eyes--is really in high school!

While our three other children had 8th grade graduation ceremonies at a brick and mortar junior high school, Annie sat quietly at our dining room table in Malawi, finished her last test, closed the book, and walked outside to begin her day at Hope Village.   I sat next to her, finished my coffee, put her book away (for her!), and never related the close of that book with the close of 8^th grade.

Could I have done more to commemorate this academic occasion? Gulp.  Yes!  

So I write this tonight for Annie.  In lieu of a junior high school graduation, a family party, a summer celebration with friends before high school, I hereby publicly acknowledge that Annie Green has finished 8^th grade. (And she excelled, if I can be so un-demure!).

So this blog is my own little Hallmark card for my little girl.

“Congratulations on a job well done.”

“You’ve made your mom and dad SO proud.”

“You are a STAR.”

“You’ve made it to high school!”

“Keep drinking black coffee because studies show it increases your academic performance.”

OK, maybe I can do better than these trite greetings.  I’ll get help from the psalmist who wrote:

“Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,

the fruit of the womb a reward.” (Psalm 127:3)

So, here is my real greeting:

“Annie, you are truly a gift from the Lord. You are a reward yes, but your dad and I did not earn you, as your feats far surpass our parenting proficiencies. You are demure when appropriate, but full of body and flavor too, as pure and complex as fresh-roasted coffee. And oh, by the way, thank you for drinking black coffee with me…and big congratulations on excelling in 8^th grade.  We are so proud of you.  You are loved, and cherished!”

My girl!  Ready to conquer the world.