Percolating and Contemplating

I don't know how long the Mr. Coffee had been percolating when I awakened this morning, but I do know it was loud and that its bark was much bigger than its bite.  

About two drops of coffee had dripped into the pot.  The rest was waiting in the upstairs compartment with the coffee grounds----why the wait?  I don't know.

I also don't know why the pot decided to percolate in the middle of the night. 

I made a new pot of coffee, thinking that the problem was just a temporary glitch. 

Again, all sound, more fury but no drip. 

I do know now that if you pour water directly over your coffee grounds instead of into the normal receptacle, this particular Mr. Coffee at the Love house will let the coffee drip. 

So, at least I figured out a band aide fix for Mr. Coffee, but there are no band aides for what I was about to see once I came upstairs with my creatively brewed first cup of coffee and sat down at the computer to read my early-morning news feed.

It was a morning when I wished that the news coming through my social media pipeline about people who matter in my life was really FAKE.

It was sad, sad, sad and worrisome on many counts.  

By the time I had finished that first cup of coffee I had read several accounts of bad things happening to really wonderful people.

I had written to a longtime, close friend to tell her that she would be in my prayers today when she undergoes surgery and, in the same message, had expressed condolences for a loss in her family over the weekend.

For the second day in a row, I had shared my sadness for a fellow Border Collie owner who had said good bye to a longtime, beloved 4-legged friend.   

Yes, sadness for others knows no bounds. Even when you don't really know the person that well, you do know of their grief.

Finally, I learned of another stunning loss to dear friends of ours.  

We have not known these friends long, but they have quickly found a place into our hearts----into the hearts of many our family members, in fact. 

These people are THAT wonderful. They bring joy and a positive spirit wherever they go. 

I often look at my now-thriving lavender plants and always remember the helpful guidance on caring for the starts when this friend so generously gave them to me a couple of years ago.

These friends are experiencing a deep, deep sadness now at the sudden loss of their son, and because of the generous warmth and love they have spread to so many of us family members, we share their grief and send them our love. 

Some mornings even the coffee pot knows something is wrong.  

I'm guessing the loud percolating I heard early this morning, seemingly signaling an empty pot, could very well have been a message screaming out that not all is right with the world. 

Bad things do happen to good people, and I must say that it's especially painful when you know and love the good people experiencing such degrees of sadness and of life's challenges.

For these friends:  may all the goodness they have so generously shared with others bounce back and sustain them at this time.