That’s right—coffee pocket, not packet, though I’m sure coffee packets exist. Probably in motel rooms, or certain hotel rooms, alongside whatever they’re offering that will allow you to heat up some water. But this is about coffee pockets. I never made my very own coffee pocket before yesterday, and this one needs work, but it does the trick, namely, to hold my coffee container or travel mug in place while inside my bag.

I’ve always appreciated those bags and backpacks with outside pockets large enough for my travel mug. But as this bag I bought last winter didn’t have one, my mug kept gravitating to a lying down position. Which was alright really, as the lid was capable of being screwed on tightly and there were no leaks. But I kept thinking how much better it would be if there was a pocket, you know, in which to insert it so it would stand upright.

You see, when there are so many seemingly unsolvable problems in the world, or even in our own lives, it can be beneficial to focus on a little thing that you can improve. So yesterday I finally did it. I made the pocket for my travel mug and this morning took it out for a trial run. It worked! I guess the next thing to do would be to figure out how to mass produce these handy pockets, assuming of course, that there are other women out there who carry travel mugs in their bags without coffee pockets.

Or maybe not. Probably better to get back to my real work, which is writing a memoir about how I freed myself from the past. This may sound strange, but I didn’t know until recently that that was what it was about. That’s the thing about writing your experiences down; you often aren’t aware of the big picture until you write about all those little pictures your memory bank is still carting around. (Memory pockets!)

One final word about coffee. I don’t have to go out for it. I am currently working from home, in a small office at the rear of my apartment, right behind the kitchen (in the old days it was the maid’s room) where I can make as much coffee as I please. But I like to get dressed up in the morning and join the crowds heading off to work or to school, so that I can have that bit of adrenalin feeling I am heading off to do important things too.

And one final word about pockets. It’s about power. About knowing, in however small a way, that I can make things better/easier/more efficient or whatever, without having to rely on someone else to do it for me. When my son was little I used to make extra pockets for him inside his jackets, and pockets in his pajamas… It’s a Wendy thing. What can I say… Except that the coffee I went out for this morning is all gone and it’s time to get back to work.