Coffee and Danish: The Ritual

Sometimes when everything feels loud, heavy, and pulled apart, small rituals of sweetness can act like gentle soul-medicine, weaving us back into wholeness again.

I witnessed a moment that warms my heart so much that I had to share it with you: ☕️

Coffee and Danish: The Ritual

He’s getting a little slower now.

A bit more forgetful.

I don’t know what I’d do without him.

He lost his sex drive years ago,

just as mine grew more alive than ever.

But he’s always been present with me.

Kind.

That’s how we raised our kids.

That was lifetimes ago —

or at least that’s how it feels.

We’re both well into our eighties now,

and we still make time for what matters.

Today that’s coffee and a danish

by a sunny window after the lunch crowd clears.

We’ve traveled.

We still read important books.

One of our kids started wearing a red hat a few years back.

We love him so much,

and yet conversations don’t happen like they used to.

There’s grief there.

A sense of loss for the man he once was.

So today, we choose cinnamon heaven and coffee.

Together.

Like we’ve done for decades.

He and I order.

I find us a small table in the sun.

The blue-haired girl offers to bring our pastries,

but he won’t hear of it.

He doesn’t spill a drop of my coffee.

His pastry looks perfect.

Mine is messy.

Sticky.

Delicious.

We don’t talk about anything big.

But it feels important.

This is our ritual of connection.

Peaceful.

Sweet.

Safe.

I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did writing it. Sweetness can be the most simple, healing experience. xo

Love,

Lori Randall Stradtman