Coffee Mugs Take Over but Still Teach Life Lessons

As I've collected items for my kitchen over the years, I have had to learn to rid my cabinets of older ones to make room for the new. I say learn, because it is not easy for me to remove these items which actually are memories to me. Because I spend so much of my time in my kitchen, the tools I use become a part of me. When my favorite casserole dish, which was a gift from our wedding shower, came crashing to the floor, I felt a true sadness as I slid it from the dustpan into the trash. In that dish was where I crafted our first lasagnas and pans of stuffed green peppers as newlyweds. When the electric pan that Mark bought me to use during our expat stay in Japan finally stopped working, I was heartbroken. That piece of equipment was where I scrambled eggs for our babies and sautéed Yakisoba, my favorite Japanese noodle dish that I just can never recreate in the States.

This past summer, I realized I had accumulated quite a collection of coffee mugs. One of them had broken many times, and I finally had to let it go. It was a mug which my aunt had given to me for my college graduation. It was my first "Teacher Mug." I held it near and dear to my heart for thirteen years, thinking of my aunt each time I sipped my Sleepy Time tea from it. When that cherished mug was finally gone, I decided it might be time to go through my mug shelf and give it a face lift. It was actually quite liberating.

We all have our favorite mugs, right? The ones we use each morning for our coffee or tea. We have ones we save for guests that match our dinnerware. We have mugs that we never touch which linger in the back of the shelves, simply collecting dust. For some reason, those just never make it into the rotation. Those were the ones that were easy for me to donate.

Then came the sentimental mugs. The ones that had been taking up my cabinets for ten plus years. Obviously, I never needed all of them at once, and they were making it difficult to close my cabinet doors. Something needed to be done. How did this emotionally-attached, "I wanna keep everything that has ever meant anything to me" mama decide which mugs to keep and which to donate? One afternoon, I talked it over with my own mom for some tips, and I began the process.

I had four mugs from our favorite family vacation to Guam. They were identical to each other. I kept one. I had two mugs from the time I went to see my favorite Broadway show with my best Japanese friend. Again, identical. I kept one. I had many mugs with my kiddos' faces on them. Automatic keepers, of course. One or two were starting to chip. Those became pencil holders. I had a really tall, funky, cool mug from when I took the kids to their first Broadway show. It spells Supercalifragilisticespialidoscious in a rainbow of colors. It's fantastic! Into Trixie's room it went to store whatever she wants. A mug from the kids that says "Best Dad in the History of the World...Ever" required no contemplation. Through the shelves I went, making wise decisions on what on Earth to do with all of these stinkin' coffee mugs.

Then came the one that I knew I would never be able to give away. It's a sleek black coffee mug that my parents presented to me in celebration after one night of high school. I haven't kept it because of the event that surrounded it (Honor Society inductions). Obviously, who I was in high school was just that, high school. I kept it because of the words that are written on it and how much they still ring true to what I believe. When I drink from it, I read the words that my parents carefully chose for me that night. I was only sixteen, but the inspiration I felt from the words on a coffee mug (with balloons and candy attached) are still affecting me.

The words are beginning to fade, probably from many years of wear and washing. Please read them with care, and maybe you will be inspired today, too!

Excellence can be attained if you...

Care more than others think is wise...

Risk more than others think is safe...

Dream more than others think is practical...

Expect more than others think is possible.

Do you have sentimental attachments to items in your kitchen or home? How long have you kept them? I just realized I've had this honor society mug for exactly 20 years! It has moved all over the world with me. Thanks, Mom and Dad. I am sure you had no idea it would become such an important part of my home.

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