Last Monday, on day two of the Slice of Life Challenge, I spent the day and night in the emergency room due to a gallstone attack. Because my labs showed no infection, doctors opted not to perform emergency gallstone surgery. Instead, they contacted the surgery center, scheduled a consult with a surgeon on March 17th (!), and sent me home with a prescription for anti-nausea medication and a printout that included a strict diet…a diet that banned fried foods, chocolate, cheese, and coffee.

I considered seeking a second opinion, not about the gallstones. They showed up as clear as day on the ultrasound. I needed a second opinion about the coffee.

Many nights throughout my teaching career, I remember falling asleep at night stressing about the day to follow…only to be reminded that I had that first sip of warm, calming coffee waiting for me after the harsh reality of the alarm. I slow-played that coffee, enjoying every sip. Since retirement last June, I’ve continued to indulge in my favorite cup of morning coffee. It’s a simple joy to wake up early without the alarm and slowly sip my favorite drink.

Now I’m in pain and need the comfort and caffeine that coffee provides.

That brings me to organic matcha, minimally caffeinated, filled with antioxidants. The internet suggested it as a substitute. (It’s no substitute, internet.) I tried to love it.

“It’s green…like spring,” I said to myself. That didn’t help.

My favorite mugs, cluttered in the sink because I feel too lousy to reload the dishwasher, all have a mossy residue on the bottom…not mold, matcha.

Fortunately, my family doctor, with whom I had an appointment yesterday, managed to move my surgery consult to tomorrow so I don’t have to wait until March 17th.

For now, matcha will have to do. It is soothing, sort of, on this chilly, drizzly March morning. It fills the cup and gives me something warm to hold.

Still, I’m already googling “How long after gallbladder surgery before coffee?”