A couple of days ago, one of my coworkers returned to work from having shoulder surgery. It was both reparative and preventative surgery. There was damage to tendons and ligaments that caused pain in his shoulder which is what he had repaired.
The doctor told him that he should have the surgery before those tendons tear completely. That sounds like pretty good incentive to me. Apparently, it is a really bad situation when the tendons tear all the way through (and painful I’m sure).
I was surprised to see him back at work less than a week after his surgery, and able to function throughout the day without pain killers. His right arm is in a sling and strapped to his body.
When I asked him how he was feeling, he said that the pain from the surgery is less than the pain of the injury so he was already feeling better. Wow, that’s amazing!
He is a Texas native, retired Air Force, family man about my age. We don’t work together much but we always get along very well when we do. He always has a smile and has pleasant things to talk about.
A few months ago, my daughter had introduced me to an Italian dessert called affogato. Affogato is a shot of espresso poured over a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Since I love both ice cream and espresso, this was quite a treat.
One day, my coworker and I were talking about coffee. Over the years, I have been educating him on what constitutes good quality coffee and the fact that the taste is far superior to what he picked up at the local gas stations.
When we first started having these conversations, I could not convince him that good quality coffee did not need anything added to it. He was used to doctoring his coffee with both fake creamer and copious amounts of sugar.
Eventually, I was able to introduce him to coffee from a small coffee shop near work. He was surprised by the fact that it tasted so much better than what he was used to buying. I think this caused him to try coffee from different places and ultimately begin appreciating coffee without a lot of additives.
One day I was telling him about the affogato that my daughter treated me with. He was seriously intrigued and went on a quest to find a place where he could get one for himself.
While on his quest, he was duped several times into believing what he was ordering was what the affogato I had described to him. After several failed attempts to find an authentic affogato, we decided to make our own.
One Friday afternoon at work, he brought in some vanilla bean ice cream and I brought 3 shots of espresso. Although the espresso was no longer piping hot, it was hot enough to melt the ice cream and blend together in amazing creamy goodness.
For my coworker, his first taste was like nothing he had ever experienced. The boldness of the espresso hits first, then is softened by the sweet creaminess of the ice cream, and the experience is finished off by the comforting flavor of vanilla as it blends with the lingering impression of the espresso on your tongue.
It’s such a dramatic progression of flavors evoking emotions that evolve right along with it, that you can’t wait to take the next spoonful. And then, before you know it, the cup is empty.
So, upon my coworker’s return to work, we thought that on Friday afternoon we should toast his successful surgery with another affogato. It was a great way to finish off the work week and catch up with each other.
So now, there is a half gallon of vanilla ice cream with 2 scoops missing out of it in the freezer at work. Hmmm, what should we do with that?
I hope your weekend is going well, and you find some time to relax and spend with loved ones. My daughter is home for the weekend, so maybe we will celebrate with some organic popcorn made on the stove at home and top it with organic butter…
Nehemiah 8:12 So the people went away to eat and drink at a festival meal, to share gifts of food, and to celebrate with great joy because they had heard God’s words and understood them.
