“BEFORE THE COFFEE GETS COLD”

There’s this 3-book series: “Before The Coffee Gets Cold”, written in Japanese by Toshikazu Tawaguchi and later translated in English by Geoffrey Trousselot. 

It is about a cafe in Tokyo where customers ordered coffee, poured and served after which they reminisce, travel back in time and return before the coffee gets cold. 

The moral lesson in this series is to “cherish the people and the moments in our lives before they become part of the past”.

It is for this very reason that my sister and I chose “Before The Coffee Gets Cold” as our catch phrase; or you may call it slogan, mantra, battle cry; if you wish: 

My sister lived in the US for about 38 years and to me, she sparingly came home for visits. During those earlier years, long distance calls were expensive, no Skype or FaceTime yet. We limited our calls to birthdays and Christmases. 

Looking back, I’d say that we missed a lot being together and sharing life experiences during those crucial years. Those years were challenging, with no manuals to guide us so we groped;trying to make married life better and rearing our children the best we could while holding a career. 

At times like those, sometimes we just need a sister to talk to or just see each other over coffee. Who knows, we could have even enjoyed those years better by just comparing notes. 

I was so happy when she finally decided to retire here, leaving her 3 children and their families in the US whom she can visit as often as she wants. Her prime intention upon her return was to bond with family, especially with me and our older brother to compensate for lost time.

Therefore, “Before the coffee gets cold” is a reminder for us to make the most of this time now since we are not getting any younger.

My sister and I spend a day a month together; lunch out, some shopping and errands that we can do together. Since she lives close to our brother while I live on the other side of town; they see each other more often; but we meet on birthdays and party with the whole clan once or twice a year.

Compared to this cafe in Tokyo, over here popular cafes are places to be and be seen; a convenient place to work or to socialize, to catch up with friends or even a venue for dates “over a cup of coffee”, so to speak. 

I learned that Tawaguchi published the 4th book of the series: “Before We Say Goodbye”, but then we will temporarily set that aside and maybe when the time comes we can move on to that catch phrase. In the meantime, “Before The Coffee Gets Cold” will cut it.