passing of a good friend

I'm sad to say a good friend of ours is slowly passing away. It's our Bunn coffeemaker. We love that thing. Been with us a long time. It was a wedding gift - traveled from Ohio to Iowa with loved ones to get there. Served great coffee in our first apartment in the cool pre-dawn Iowa mornings before I'd head out to my temp masonry job or Mon her office up at ISU. It served great coffee in the wee hours in our apartment in Ohio as our first son came into the world. It served great coffee in our first home during project after project. It served great coffee for special guests after tasty dinners. It served great coffee over fika (Swedish cookie snack between lunch and dinner). It served great coffee to clarify the blurry hours after our second son was born. It served great coffee since I've been home with the boys nearly the last three years. What a great friend it's been.

That thing was awesome. It had a hotwater reservoir so that at anytime you could pour in water and have a hot pot of coffee within about 90 seconds. Didn't do much to curb our appetite for fresh coffee in all its wonderful forms, but what a good run it's been. Over the summer, sadly, we started noticing a trickle of warm water coming from the Bunn everytime we'd make coffee. The trickle eventually developed into a small flow and still, great coffee. We were realists though; we knew the end was near. We weren't in denial -- If only we could nurse it til we go to Sweden, we thought. Yesterday we made coffee in it for what turned out to be likely the last time. We couldn't turn off the burner, deeming our Bunn unsafe to leave plugged in, rendering it's magical powers powerless.

Today we had to make coffee in the French press the old fashioned way. We got it in Spain but could just as easily be bought at Target. Coffee grounds + hotwater + at least two minutes of steeping and slowly push the plunger down. The three words I heard Andy Rooney use to describe the French press: sediment, sediment, sediment. Still, decent coffee, just don't swallow the last swig. Works for now and until...? I guess I'm having a bit of a hard time viewing nearly everything with sentimental eyes as we decide what to keep, to pack or to let go. Letting go.

Is it wrong to feel more choked up about the coffeemaker than leaving the cat behind? A new multi dimensional coffee maker awaits us on the other side. We're hoping to get one that can not only brew a great pot of coffee but also steam espresso and/or milk. Better get ready Sweden cuz we'll be there soon and looking for a good cup of joe.