Category: Dad

It was a day like any other. Picking up my mom for her weekly grocery shopping trip, I looked forward to stopping at a local coffee shop while she took her time going up and down the aisles. The shop was close by and a few moments of quiet and a good cup of coffee were calling me.

Arriving there, I glanced at the bakery offerings. Since I had no chocolate in my purse, it was going to be a cookie kind of day. The display case at the Blue Canary was filled with delicious looking biscotti. I chose a dark chocolate drizzled, chocolate biscotti with cherries.

I sat down at the table and opened up my laptop. The mouse needed new batteries. Phone, coffee, plate with biscotti, napkins, check. Phone next to me, check. Finally, I reached for the biscotti and without thinking about it, I dunked the end of it right into that cup of steaming coffee.

The first bite was amazing. So was the second. I dipped every bite into the coffee and tried to be mindful of every chew. Instead of rushing through it, I savored and enjoyed the experience to the fullest. Wow, it was wonderful.

When I was growing up, coffee was a part of life at our house and at my grandmother’s as well. Back then, there was no decaf (Sanka came later) so it was Maxwell House perking on the back burner of our gas stove. The coveted pot was metal with one of those little glass toppers. Plink, plink, plink went the coffee as it perked. After dinner, there was always a fresh pot. My grandmother was the first person I remember allowing me cups laden with milk and sugar.

My dad was a dipper. No matter what type of cookie was on the table after dinner, he dipped it. My mother’s Greek bread toasts (paximathia) or butter cookies (koulourakia) were his favorites. Around the holidays, like Easter, mom would make dozens of them to take to holiday gatherings.

And Dad didn’t just do cookies. He did bread and cheese (think slices of swiss cheese) or just plain toast. He loved to dip. He loved coffee and whatever was on hand to dip into it.

I’ve met people who are not dippers. They would never think of dipping their cookie or biscotti into their coffee. Too many crumbs, they say, floating in their coffee. But I LOVE IT. So what if you get to the bottom of your cup and there are crumbs?

Sometimes when I think of dipping, I think of the old Dr. Pepper jingle. Instead of Be a Pepper, listen to the jingle below and substitute “dipper” for the word “pepper” in your head.

Works doesn’t it! If you’ve never dipped before, you don’t know what you’re missing. Give it a try. You’ll love it. 🙂