Recently, in what might have been a misguided effort to take care of myself, I decided to give up my daily cup of coffee. I had gone a few days without drinking any because of the stomach bug my family had, and I decided that I ought to just stop all together. For the next few days, I drank black or green tea instead. After a few days of exclusive tea drinking, I decided that I would eliminate caffeine all together and only drink herbal tea. I thought it would be good to get in touch with how I really feel. You know, get in touch with my decaffeinated body. So here I am, two weeks without coffee and about one week without caffeine. I feel…tired and kind of old. Haggard would be a good word. Of course Job is also nursing an excessive number of times during the night and I need to night wean him again. (Yes, again.) But at least I know now that my cup or two of coffee a day wasn’t what was causing his night waking.
A few sleepy days ago, I impulsively made an appointment for a haircut this week, my first one in nearly a year. I boldly scheduled with a new stylist at a new salon. I have haircut anxiety so this was big. My plan was just a little trim, and then maybe I might decide to go short again next time. I lost so much hair after my last two babies, that I guess I’ve been hanging on to the little I have left, scraggly as it is. The day of my appointment, while I waited in the salon to be called back, the girl at the counter offered me “Coffee?” (Sigh.) “Tea?” “A Coke?” I replied, “I’m good, unless you have apple cider vinegar, and in that case I’d like a little diluted with purified water, but only if you have the stuff with The Mother.” Just kidding. But that is what I’ve been drinking for the past week in addition to herbal tea. I’m not sure what I am expecting to accomplish with that, so far I’m just tired.
The young, bouncy, adorable girl that cut my hair acted shocked when I told her that I’m 37 years old and have an unreasonable number of little bunnies at home. She said that she assumed I was younger than her. She’s 29. I LOVE her even though she’s a liar. She’s cutting my hair from now on. She inspired me to forget the trim and cut about six inches off my hair, and I’m glad. Jonny took pictures so I could email my mom, who has always been concerned for my hair. (And mom, you’ll be pleased to know that I bought a new product to make it bigger too.) I guess I thought you guys might want to see it as well. If not, rest assured that I only write about my hair about once a year.
But most importantly, should I just forget all this nonsense about getting in touch with the way I really feel and start drinking coffee again? Or should I be all pure and decaffeinated? I’ve proven that I can go without coffee, so it would probably be okay to just have my one cup a day. Right? RIGHT? My sister Sarah, a coffee drinker herself suggested that I stop this nonsense and drink my coffee. “You’re too tired for this!”
I am. I love my bunnies, but they exhaust me.
oooohh the hair anxiety I have too!!! I also only get my hair cut or pampered once a year. Several year s ago in an attempt to cheer myself up in the beginning of a Michigan February i choose to get my hair colored. I picked a dark-rich shade of ‘coffee’ & ended up with bright red, i mean BRIGHT clown redish/orange hair! I can laugh now, but how i do not trust those stylist with my hair now.
Oh goodness, I can’t give up coffee! It is too much of a ritual. And actually…I am drinking decaf right now because of being pregnant most of last year and now nursing our newest little one. I have gone through seasons of not drinking it, and switching to tea, but I am definitely a coffee girl. I know it is acidic and probably not great for my body, but I can’t seem to give up that ritual! I say, go for it if you like it 🙂
Your hair looks amazing and you do look young!! I Catholic homeschool too. I think coffee can be a treat to yourself. That little boost in your energy level is a gift to you and your family. At least that’s what I tell my kiddos!!! Love your site. Thanks for sharing your lives with us.
I wouldn’t go back to coffee. Sometimes fatigue is due to tired kidneys, it is then necessary to re-mineralize the body. My advice add a pinch of salt to your daily bottle of water, salt water hardener is the best !
In a few days without coffee you will feel revived !
;o)
Brilliant post!!!
You have such a great way with words!!!
Your hair looks wonderful by the way, really suits you!! <3
X x x
Have you tried cereal “coffee”? Sometimes made from roasted chicory, dandelion root, barley, even carob. I gave up coffee but there was something missing on my morning routine, I tried a few and found the one I like best. I now prefer it to coffee. Sometimes when I’m tired I’ll reach for the “fake coffee”, I don’t know why, but sitting down to that taste is good, and it doesn’t make me feel bad if I drink two or three cups. Besides, i feel like it’s a very nourishing drink, don’t really know why! But it just seems that way.
You do look young, actually! 🙂
I’d probably go back to the coffee. It’s not like you’d been overdoing it with two dozen cups a day – nothing wrong with giving yourself a little kick-start with a cuppa in the morning, especially with the disrupted nights that you’ve been having. I’ve had to lay off my morning cup for about 10 days recently after a tonsillectomy and what you’ve been saying about feeling old and haggard? That pretty much nails how I’ve been feeling too! 😉
Oh I like the hair a lot! I think one cup of coffee a day would be ok. I too had to cut it down and just treat myself now and then. And your hairdresser sounds great. Keep her!
But you do look young! Before I read anything I looked at the pictures and was wondering what is your secret. I’m the same age as you and I know how I look… About the coffee. I have done the same couple of times, stopped drinking coffee and thinking that it would be some great change for the better – but nope. I’m just more tired and missing a small enjoyable ritual.
Oh Ginny, I’m sorry, but I am chuckling a little, not at you, but with you. I have half the amount of children and I still need that morning coffee kick. I do only have the one, but I need it black and strong to get me going.
I’m glad you took the time out to see if it did work as I know it can work for some people. I tried it for a while too when my kids were younger and all it did was make me feel grumpy and miserable. I didn’t do any of the things that everyone convinced would happen. I figure that some of us are just designed to be fuelled on coffee, just cars can be diesel or gas!
I love your hair too. I am also having a hair crisis. I have hair down to my bra line and it’s really, really thick. It doesn’t like the cold weather (or the hot either) and I just don’t have time with work and the children and the animals to look after it. I think your cut is just the kick I have needed to get that appointment and have a sleek, easy to manage, fun bob put in (oh, and your hairdresser isn’t a liar, you DON’T look 37 and I’m not saying that to be nice, it’s true!)
Have a nice week with your beautiful hair and…buy a new coffee mug (it helps I think 😉 !!)
Oh and yes, I also add the raw cider vinegar to my cold drinks – everything – and people always look at me weirdly!
I thinks your hair looks really nice, your face is highlighted (I’m sorry I am not sure if the expression is correct , I’m French and I know that I make a lot of mistakes=) About the coffee, I have my cup in the morning when my older is at school and my second one is reading or drawing and it really gives me the energy push to start my day and my brain really seems to start working after that!After that cup, I only drink one or two cups of tea during the afternoon and it’s like it keeps the energy going on! I love your photos, all of them =)
I love the shape of the cut. Looks like it will be easy to keep looking good on even bad days. I need a cut too, I’m thinking a root perm and cut really short. I just hate messing with hair. Brush and go is my motto.
I don’t know about coffee, but tea has lots of antioxidants and things that are good for you in it, so I don’t see any problem in having a couple of cups of real tea a day and then herbal the rest of the time. The odd cup of coffee here and there will not be too bad either I don’t suppose. ALL things in moderation seems a good way to go to me. Good luck working it out. I haven’t had my hair cut in a long long time either, yours looks really great! xx
No comment from me on caffeine or not. It makes me feel weird and then tired so I drink more then weirder than tireder…but I do want to say, I have enjoyed the fact that you are in more pictures these last couple of months. It is inspiring me to do the same…and then not delete them.
I used to give up coffee and feel guilty when I went back. I finally prayed about it and the Lord reminded me of Peter’s vision with all the animals, clean and unclean on a sheet saying take and eat. I feel like God made coffee beans and gave us the ingenuity to brew them. It’s a good gift. Enjoy it as long as it’s not giving you problems. Take and drink!
Love love my lattes – don’t really drink coffee per say, no flavor other than the richness of the milk – YES, drink coffee. Married to a Brit, we also drink a lot of black tea with a splash of milk, all day long!
LOVE love your haircut….and your blog….and your photos….
blessings to you and yours
I love ypur. hair!
I did the same thing regarding coffe but am back to two cups of it a day, life is too short:)
Love your hair cut!
Haha. I was wondering if that was a Pope Francis reference! 😉 Love it.
I read about a study a few years ago that claimed that consuming moderate levels of caffeine was associated with a lowered risk of Alzheimer’s. Good enough for me!
But then, I’ve been drinking coffee on and off since I was about 6 😉
If you feel good with coffee and it doesn’t cause other issues for you, then you might as well drink it. No reason not to, but of course you’re the best judge of what works for you 🙂
There is nothing like a quiet moment with a piping hot cup of good coffee. Give in!!
Dear Ginny,
I love your haircut….a good haircut like that can make you feel fresh!!! Your hairdresser is right…you do look very young and you are amazing with all those bunnies you care for…..so not an easy job. The coffee is a personal thing!! I do not…cannot…am not allowed coffee. My kids say I get tooo hyper and crazy with it…so I am used to not having it. My sister on the other hand loves her one cup every morning. She feels it gives her that kick start she needs for the day. I personally feel with the amount of work you face every day coffee is not such a bad thing. Upon recently discovering that I am anemic I started taking iron supplements with an orange (to help with absorption) and what a difference it has made in my tiredness and energy levels. Be sure you take the time for selfcare. When you take good care of yourself, you can have more energy (emotionally and physically) for everything else in life. I’m sure you know all this!! You are an amazing Mom and your love for your family is very evident!!!
Praying for you!!!
#1 Super cute hair!
#2 Night weaning is sooo hard. Two steps forward…three steps back.
#3 Drink you some coffee already!
Drink your cup of coffee!!! I’m pregnant with number three, never tried to stop drinking coffee for any of them. I figure that moderation in all things and a happy mama is better than an unhappy, do-not-drink-any-caffeine-rule-bound mama… : ) I drink anything from no coffee to 2 cups a day. I try to keep it moderate, usually 1 cup, by drinking it when I can sit down and truly enjoy it (usually means a little yummy alongside, or time to check in on my e-mail or catch up on your blog!).
Love your haircut! And I say drink the coffee. 🙂 I’ve had bouts of giving it up before (I’m a cup-a-day gal, maybe a smidge more if there’s any left in the pot), so I know I *can* do it, but I am much pleasanter to be around in the mornings if I can start my day off with a cup of coffee, so I tell myself it’s a way of taking care of my family as well as myself (happier mom = happier kids, right?). 🙂
I love the pictures of your kids around the campfire. I am all for the COFFEE! I love everything about it: smell, cups, taste – the bolder the better. One cup a day will keep the “feeling olds” away!
Your hair is adorable, I agree with your stylist that you look WAY younger than 37 (and I am not depending on you to tip me, so you can believe it), your “bunnies” reference makes me chuckle, and I don’t think 1 cup of coffee a day ever really hurt anyone (though it is good every now and then to prove to yourself that you CAN do without it). 🙂
Did you know that THREE cups of coffee per day significantly lowers your risk of liver cancer?
Fantastic haircut! And for the record…I’m a homeschooling Mom of many littles too…and I tried to kick coffee for a while, but it not only kept me awake during the day, but I missed the pleasure of it in the morning. I retreated back to 1 cup a day and I haven’t regretted it.
All of the pioneer books I read they mention drinking coffee. If it’s good enough for the pioneers, it’s good enough for me! 😉
haha. I’ve been seeing adorable bunnies all around the Internets! It’s an upgrade from cats!
Your haircut is lovely!
I am not a big caffeine person and don’t drink coffee (herbal teas, mostly.) I do also like hot water with lemon and maybe a little honey. Maybe it’s the idea of all the detoxifying from the lemon but it does the trick for me when my energy is failing.
I’ m tired, too, but my desire to read too late into the night is my main problem. Waking up with little ones wouldn’t be so bad if I could just close the book and go to sleep. Hard to turn the brain off, though.
Great to see so many photos you in one post! Your hair looks awesome. Coffee: I do one cup a day, but I often spread it out – I make one espresso. Add honey so it all melts. I have part of it in a small cup/mug, hot with heated milk, in the morning. Then, later on, I make an iced coffee if it’s not -40 Celsius!
I am in a similar internal coffee debate! We all got a respiratory virus over Christmas and so I didn’t drink coffee for four days or so. I considered sticking with it, but honestly: I decided I really enjoy my one cup per day; I did manage to cut out the sugar about two months ago (though I do take it with cream!); and—antioxidants! 🙂 so it is again part of my daily ritual. And I think it’s kind of nice to have a little treat in the morning before tending to my six little bunnies. 😉
Very pretty hair cut! (And I say, drink the coffee!)
Gave up coffee just after Christmas. Just drink mugs of hot water all day long. Needed the warmth of holding that mug in my two hands. So far, I don’t miss the coffee at all. It is an acid producer in my tummy, and I needed to tame that.
Nice haircut!
One cup of coffee a few times a week is good for you. As long as it doesn’t make you stressed when you drink it. I had to give up caffeine due to health reasons. I actually feel better without it. I still drink decaf coffee for the taste/comfort.
Ginny, you are so darn funny! I too have an irresponsible liter of bunnies 😉 And you should drink coffee. It’s just so yummy.
Oh, Ginny, you are so adorably precious!!!! I love your haircut and the bunnies are beautiful. (And for what it’s worth, I gave up caffeinated coffee about a year ago, and honestly don’t think I feel THAT much different). There are worse vices in the world. 🙂
I’m a one cup-a-day gal. I laughed when I read how you wanted to be in touch with how you really “feel,” because in the past I’ve rationalized my quitting coffee altogether with something more dramatic, like “I want to see how I feel when I’m not UNDER THE INFLUENCE of caffeine.” I also would sometimes blame coffee for my anxiety, which I’ve had chronically since I was a kid, well before my coffee drinking habits began. I, like you, did 2 weeks “off the sauce” and just felt sluggish. My new rationalization is this: it doesn’t do anything bad to me, I really savor that one little cup of coffee, and if I quit, I WILL be lured back to it eventually as I love the smell so much. I’ve already done a few of these trying-to-quit cycles, and really what am I doing? The benefits of quitting just haven’t paid off enough to deny such a simple pleasure in life. If this doesn’t sell you, when I quit during pregnancy, trying to be the perfect pregnant-lady, I suffered from pretty bad headaches. I told my midwife and she said: “You really should have a cup of coffee!” Whoops.
Sara–yes! You sound just like me. I can get kind of dramatic too–like thinking that I don’t want to be such an ADDICT. I might have a cup tomorrow… 🙂
Right, and the word “addict” implies a loss of control. Which is horrifying. Even if it’s just one little cup a joe that has that hold over you. I consider it an exercise in letting go (always important for me). It’s not like I’m going to go on a coffee bender and wind up at the store buying multiple boxes of wine and packs of Virginia Slims (see how hardcore my imaginary addictions would be?). It’s just coffee… which a handy built-in effect of giving me the jitters if over-consumed, which I HATE. Of course, if I know myself well enough, I will probably totally try to give it up again in a year or so….but until then…
p.s. Love your blog. You have very lucky bunnies.
OMG Sara and Ginny, I am in tears laughing here…..boxes of wine and Virginia Slims..lol. I am so there with you, why do we women feel the need to be perfect? and when we think we fail, and we will, we go from zero to 100– meaning skid row, I don’t even know where skid row is in my town. My husband doesn’t act like I do when he is trying to kick a bad habit-he can walk around like a normal person, even if he does get a little edgy and or tired, he just assumes that’s normal, so he is normal. No no no, not me. The head conversation starts and keeps getting louder and bolder, { i play both voices in my head talk} until I am worn out. I am a firm daily coffee drinker and my husband makes it for me every morning and thanks me for taking my drug and I thank him 😉
Ginny, thanks for a GREAT post, I needed a good laugh at myself. and really i am not crazy……
I gave up caffeine a couple of months ago because of anxiety. I don’t know if it helped but I couldn’t continue doing anything that might contribute. I don’t think I feel any better or worse, energy-wise. But, the funny thing is it tastes awful to me now. I drink herbal tea, water and milk and that’s it. It is rather boring, but at least I sleep now. The caffeine could have been affecting the baby had you been drinking it all day, but you’re still so young, it probably wouldn’t have affected you. Like so many, ugh, aging? people (am I aging, what is 52?) the cutoff time for caffeine consumption kept get earlier and earlier so I do think it’s helped my sleep.
Love the hair! I have thin hair that seems to be getting thinner yet I keep holding onto the length and won’t let anyone touch it. I probably should give in at some point, especially now that I have grey coming in 🙁 🙁
Your children keep you young!
I’m on the same coffee debate but can’t seem to go more than a few days at this point. I have 4 boys. My youngest is 13 weeks and my oldest will be 6 next month. I’m just plain tired!
im all about giving up caffeine if it is healing for you. If it gives you headaches, messes with your appetite, makes you jittery, whatever. But if giving up caffeine makes you feel like you only more tired, what’s the point? Do what is healing for YOU. If drinking a cup of coffee in the morning doesn’t have any negative side affects and puts a little extra pop in your step, I say go for it!
oh, and your haircut is lovely!!!
The coffee: don’t just drink it–enjoy the s*** outta that cup!!
well… I am mainly not a caffeine person but you know if I were you and with your many beloved bunnies, as it were, I would totally approve of you having caffeine in coffee, tea or both! WITH chocolate. good dark chocolate with sea salt, you know Vitamin Ch (CHocolate) for Women? :)))) Will pray meanwhile for strength, esp. with waking little one! <3
Nice haircut! You wanted to get in touch with your true self – well, it looks like the truth is that caffeine helps you. Perhaps when your kids are much older you can experiment with no caffeine, but why now, when it helps you? If you’re only having one cup a day, that isn’t much – it shouldn’t be harmful to you. 🙂
see…?? I had this FEELING you were going to cut more off! It looks great!
Thanks, Lori! But more importantly, did you catch my little Pope Francis reference?
You look great! I got a very similar haircut over the summer. I’m trying to grow it out again but it was fun to have an actual “style” for a while. I would give in to the coffee but I don’t want to influence you too much. If it’s not really affecting anything and you feel and live better with it, then one cup a day is good. I feel like God gave it as a gift and most especially as a gift to moms with lots of young ones. Like any gift it can be abused but in moderation, a good thing. I mix half decaf in there so maybe that’s something you could try? (But then I have two-three cups 🙂 I also use fair trade organic so that makes me feel a little bit better about it 🙂