I'll give up coffee...

...when the kids can get themselves up in the morning and I can sleep in.

I had made the decision recently to give up caffeine and start taking panax ginseng supplements. Ginseng is a wonderful herb with many positive effects, including helping the body recover from stress, improving mental ability, is a powerful antioxidant, etc. Here is some info, if you are interested.

Where this is difficult is that I am a coffee snob. I had to give up my cup of coffee in the morning, and that has been rough with a new baby and a son who thinks that, as soon as it's not pitch black outside any longer, it is morning and morning time is for playing...not sleeping. Today is one of those days. He woke his sister up this morning, too, and she normally sleeps in until at least 8:00. I know that coffee is hard on the system, is a diuretic, and is not a substitute for proper sleep and rest for the body. That's all good and dandy, but what about parents of small children who, on a scale of one to ten go to eleven?!

I brewed a cup of coffee for myself and am about to go drink it.

I keep asking my wife at what point will the kids be self-sufficient enough to get themselves out of bed, grab a bowl of cereal and let Mom and Dad sleep in for a while. She assures me that it will not be for several years yet.

I'll be drinking coffee for the next several years, and will give it up later, when I can get up in the morning without my head feeling like it's in a fishbowl.