Coffee Keeps Grandma Young
Gary Barg, editor of Today’s Caregiver Magazine, wrote this week about a conflict between a daughter and her 95-year-old mom, as reported by the mom’s granddaughter. The article, entitled “The Coffee Conflicts”, recounted how the mother was still fit, mentally alert and healthy. She still was able to drive herself to the store to do her own grocery shopping, and she still drank her customary coffee.
The daughter found fault with mom and one thing she made a big deal of was the coffee. She told her healthy 95-year-old mother that she should stop with the coffee because it wasn’t good for her health. This and other power struggles on the part of the daughter were described. The writer went on to explain that the basis for the conflict was control, and the older lady needed to at least think she was in control.
There’s a lot more going on here than a battle for control. As the writer himself chose the title as a conflict over coffee, it surely is foundational to the struggle portrayed. The moral could be: never tell your mom to give up her coffee! In this case, it might have been like telling her to give up water. Obviously, the coffee was good for the mom, who at 95 was still able to function like someone who’s only, say - 90. The article left out a lot of key background on the coffee-loving Grandma, critical facts such as: Did Grandma go to a great coffee shop to drink her coffee; did she favor espresso, Folgers or Turkish coffee? Was coffee part of her social life? Did she shop at ROASTe for her coffee?
Whatever the case, the Grandma is an example of the research findings that coffee prevents many diseases. She’s also living proof that if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.
The daughter found fault with mom and one thing she made a big deal of was the coffee. She told her healthy 95-year-old mother that she should stop with the coffee because it wasn’t good for her health. This and other power struggles on the part of the daughter were described. The writer went on to explain that the basis for the conflict was control, and the older lady needed to at least think she was in control.
There’s a lot more going on here than a battle for control. As the writer himself chose the title as a conflict over coffee, it surely is foundational to the struggle portrayed. The moral could be: never tell your mom to give up her coffee! In this case, it might have been like telling her to give up water. Obviously, the coffee was good for the mom, who at 95 was still able to function like someone who’s only, say - 90. The article left out a lot of key background on the coffee-loving Grandma, critical facts such as: Did Grandma go to a great coffee shop to drink her coffee; did she favor espresso, Folgers or Turkish coffee? Was coffee part of her social life? Did she shop at ROASTe for her coffee?
Whatever the case, the Grandma is an example of the research findings that coffee prevents many diseases. She’s also living proof that if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.
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