Stirred, Not Shaken

It’s commonly accepted that kids take on many of the mannerisms and mechanisms they see at home. We are their first and most persistent teachers, whether we know it or not. They model us.

Part of being a mentalist involves paying attention to the people around us, observing and mentally recording little pieces of information that could be helpful in the future.  I never realized, even that habit is transferable.

Today my kids told me (both of them agreed) that they can tell how I feel by the way I stir my coffee. I have a habit of adding stevia, then just a tad of sugar, and stirring before adding any cream.

(Part of being an Aspergic OCD involves developing rules and patterns, consciously or unconsciously, so that life can become a bit more manageable.  For example, I tie my shoes in a certain way, and that way has been carefully thought out at some time in the past. That’s just me.)

So the coffee is already swirling when the cream goes in, and the spoon, with no dairy on it, is reusable later. (I didn’t say it wasn’t gross, just previously thought through!)

 BUT, just after churning the coffee, I tap the spoon on the side of the cup. In fact, I play a tattoo on the cup. Sounds like a little bell. “tink-t-t-tink-tink-tink-t-t-tink”. Takes less than a second and is probably Freudian (or at least Pavlovian) in nature.

Today the boys said I must not be feeling well, because the cup only went “tink-tink-tink”.



Who can argue with that?