Barbara Lawhorn teaches composition and creative writing at Western Illinois University (WIU). She has fiction forthcoming in Iron Horse Literary Review, where she was a finalist in the Photo Finish Contest, and creative nonfiction in Panorama: The Journal of Travel, Place, and Nature. Her most recent poetry, fiction, and nonfiction can be found at Another Chicago Magazine, El Portal, Sand Hill Literary Review, Belmont Story Review, and the Santa Clara Review. She lives joyfully in the Midwest with her favorite creative endeavors ever: sons, Mars and Jack.

M&L: What is your coffee order?

BL: My go-to coffee drink at home is fair trade Sumatra with half-and-half in it. It’s how I start my day every single day. Now, if I’m at a coffee house, I typically go for espresso. It’s either going to be an Americano with room for cream, or it’s going to be an espresso con panna. So, it’s a double espresso and they add decadent whipping cream. 

M&L: What is your favorite coffee shop? 

BL: In the history of my life, my favorite coffee shop ever? It’s in the past tense unfortunately, but it was when I was a college student. There was a place here called the Turning Point Cafe and it was owned by two graduate students. It was on the square, it was three stories and it was amazing. The coffee was great, they had amazing food, they had open-mic night every Tuesday night. It was really funky, you know, there were all kinds of spaces that you could go hang out in. They did art exhibits for college students, photography exhibits, and there’d be bands, and it was just really really wonderful. 

M&L: Who do you share coffee with? 

BL: My coffee journey began with my father. We were both morning people, so, I remember the summer that I was fourteen, and I had my first full-time summer job. I had to get up early, and he would be up when I got up, already watching the news, and he would pour me a small mug of coffee with cream and sugar. So I started drinking coffee, and it’s something that I really associate with my father. I also share coffee with my partner, Aaron and we take turns bringing coffee to one another. I think one of the greatest luxuries are slow mornings where you don’t have to rush anywhere. For me, I really think if you’re a coffee person, receiving coffee made to the way you like it, in the mug you like, and doing that for someone, I mean, that’s love.

M&L: How is coffee part of your reading and writing life? 

BL: I start every morning with coffee and my dog, Banjo. I do thirty minutes of meditation, and then three morning pages is what I call them. And they are the things that I’m unwilling to give up each day. It’s something I’ve carved out for myself, and part of my morning meditation is that mug of coffee providing the warmth. I love my morning coffee. It’s the way in which I prepare for the day with intention and a sense of how I want to be in the world. I know that might sound cheesy, but that time in the morning, it’s time where I’m really preparing for how I’m going to engage with the world, and engage with others, and engage with myself as a mom, as a teacher, and as a friend. I think of it kind of like those are my anchors in the morning. Mindfulness and coffee, and the comfort of my dog, it is kind of like a soft landing, or an easing into a gentle takeoff. So by the time I’ve done that, I’m getting my son up, and I am fully engaged, I’m open-hearted, curious, and present. And that is something that coffee helps me with. It eases that process. 

M&L: Describe your first sip of the day.

BL: No matter what is going on in life, no matter how hard life is, or how many challenges I’m facing, or how busy we are, it is without fail my alarm goes off and my next thought is, “ooh, coffee.” It really is, for me. My dad would call it Rocket Fuel. When it was ready, he’d, like, call up to me and be like, “Rocket Fuel’s on,” or, “Rocket Fuel’s ready!” And there’s something about it acting as an anchor for me, and it really is. I think anything done with intention elevates it, and I work really hard with that first cup during that morning meditation to savor it and for it to be the leaping pad for me to remember all I’ve got in this moment, in the present. My first cup of coffee, I can tell you, I’m typically more present with my first cup of coffee than I am the rest of the day. It’s delicious, reassuring, exciting, it never fails to thrill me and I don’t think it will ever get old. It always feels like this wonderful combination of comfort, reassurance, and also anticipation and excitement. After that first cup, I’m like, “alright, bring it, I wonder what’s going to happen today.” That first cup of the day really sets your day in motion.