It’s not what people say about me that keeps me up at night it’s when they simply don’t like me, or the choices I make. It’s that pit in my stomach when approval feels like oxygen and disapproval feels like suffocation. Because if I’m honest, I want everyone to think I’m lovely and thoughtful and just the right amount of quirky. But when someone pulls back? When the room feels a little colder? My instinct is to fold in on myself, or worse, to start adjusting the recipe of who I am, like swapping out whole milk for skim just to please someone else’s palate.

The other morning, I pulled a Nespresso shot and stirred in syrups that sounded like too much on paper: coconut, raspberry, and lavender. A trifecta of flavors that might make a barista raise an eyebrow. But when I topped it with frothy milk and took that first sip, it was everything I didn’t know I wanted. Bright, floral, tropical, creamy; unexpectedly perfect.

And I thought: maybe that’s me, too. A little too much on paper, but actually, when you sit with it, exactly the right balance. Not everyone has to like it. But it’s worth savoring.

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A post shared by Jeanie Jo | Food & Culture Historian (@mealandgrace.blog)

Coconut Raspberry Lavender Latte

What You Will Need:

• 1 Nespresso espresso pod
• 1 pump coconut
• 1 pump raspberry
• 1 pump lavender syrup
• ½ cup milk, frothed until silky

What You Will Need To Do:

1. Brew your Nespresso pod (or strong coffee/ espresso) into your favorite mug.
2. Stir in 1 pump each of the following: coconut, raspberry, and lavender syrup.
3. Froth ½ cup milk until airy and smooth, then pour it over the espresso.
4. Take a sip. Let it be too much, just as it is.

What if the thing I dread most, that someone won’t like me reveals the truth that I’ve been too quick to trade authenticity for approval? That maybe, just maybe, my recipe isn’t meant to please every palate, but to offer something distinct, something honest.

So here’s my question for you: What do you most desperately not want someone to say about you? And what does that reveal about what you’re holding onto?Because sometimes the latte is more than coffee, it’s a mirror. And sometimes, the bravest thing we can do is sip it slowly, as it is, without apology.

Gracefully yours,

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Reference
Niequist, S. (2024). Celebrate Every Day. Zondervan.